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The evolution of education policy: How is America shaping its schools of the future?
Education policy covers the principles and policy decisions that affect the field of education, including the laws and rules that affect the operation of the education system. Education governance in the United States is primarily the joint responsibility of local, state, and federal governments, with varying degrees of division of labor and cooperation at different levels. Many analysts view education policy as part of social engineering. Education takes place in many forms and encompasses a variety of purposes and institutions, from early childhood education centres to schools that teach kindergarten to grade 12, and graduate education at all levels of university. In these institutions, educational goals directly influence the formulation of educational policies.
Issues in developing education policy permeate students of all school ages and include school size, class size, school choice, school privatization, law enforcement within schools, streaming policies, teacher selection, education and accreditation, and more.
Education policy also needs to address challenges in higher education, such as the education of undocumented students, the availability of sex education, and the allocation of federal student aid. Education policy analysis seeks to answer questions about the purpose of education, social and individual goals, the means of achieving those goals, and the tools to measure success or failure. This research is often conducted across a variety of academic fields and institutions, including education, public policy, psychology, economics, and sociology.
Education Reform in the United States
Over the past 30 years, there has been a gradual increase in the involvement of U.S. education policymakers at both the state and federal levels. According to the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, state governments have primary authority over education, and most of the education budget is borne by state governments, with a relatively small proportion of the federal budget allocated to education. Over time, the federal government has continued to grow its role through federal education policy that influences education funding and assessment. For example, the National Defense Education Act of 1958 was established to increase federal funding for schools, while the National Assessment of Educational Progress is responsible for tracking and comparing the academic performance of students across states.
The complexity of education reform is often likened to a "tangled web" because education authority is dispersed and overlapping at the federal, state, and local levels, leading to inefficiencies in governance.
Compared to other OECD countries, education governance in the United States is more decentralized, with most autonomy concentrated in states and school districts. This situation stems from the American citizens' emphasis on individual rights and their concerns about excessive federal government involvement. The U.S. education system is neither coordinated nor likely to improve, according to a report from the National Center on Education and the Economy.
Teacher Policies
Teacher policy is educational policy that addresses issues such as preparation, recruitment and retention of educators. Teacher policy should be guided by the overall vision and characteristics of education policy and should focus on being strategic, holistic, feasible, sustainable and context-sensitive. A comprehensive teacher policy must cover all the objectives, key challenges, funding arrangements and human resources needed to achieve universal access to quality education.
Nine key dimensions are essential in a comprehensive teacher policy: teacher recruitment and retention, teacher education (initial and continuing), allocation, career structures/pathways, teachers’ employment and working conditions, teacher rewards and Pay, teacher standards, teacher accountability and school governance.
Gender equality
To advance gender equality in education, quality and timely data and evidence are essential for policy development, planning and implementation. Such data can help countries identify and analyse gender patterns and trends, and better plan and target resources to address gender inequalities. While the SDG 4 monitoring framework is a step forward in the policy process, a comprehensive gender equality monitoring framework still needs to take into account many factors, including social and gender norms, education laws and policies, resource allocation, and discrimination in teaching and learning formats.
As education policies continue to evolve, how will the U.S. education system change in the future? How can we prepare for this?
