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Higher Education as a Source of Social Change and Social Inequality

Introduction

Education is widely recognized as a means of improving the quality of life and being an effective tool for ridding society of social exclusion and inequality. Higher education is an essential tool used by people in attaining labor market positions, which, by extension, is a means for improving well-being. Extensive studies have found that children’s social class is a major significant predictor of how successful they will be in their education. Noteworthy, the share of Americans’ income has decreased steadily by 90% since the 1980s and this is as a result of inequalities in the education systems that have played a role in making the playing field unequal (Apple,150). Higher education directly impacts the economy of a country and has the potential to transform the broader society over time in various ways. Education and particularly higher education has both positive and negative effects; on the one hand, it is a source of change, and on the other hand, it perpetuates inequality. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the paradox that is the dual role of higher education in society in relation to neoliberalism, stratification, and student loans. Further, the essay provides recommendations on ways of improving the impact of education on society.

Stratification in Higher Education

It is rife to note that stratification of higher education plays a role in reproducing social inequality within the labor markets. Current research indicates that students’ origin has the potential to directly impact their occupational status and wage once they have graduated from college. Notably, aspects of students’ education qualification, including their field of study, program length, and institutional quality, affect their labor markets (Berg, 56). For instance, engineering, law, and medical related courses take between four and seven years to complete the training. These professions are very lucrative, and they offer competitive remuneration compared to fields such as education and hospitality, which take less time to complete. This brings inequality because the two professions differ a lot in income which exacerbates poverty and economic dependence. Additionally, the occupation of a student is directly impacted by the level of education of their parents. For instance, students whose parents went through tertiary education have higher chances of being in a highly rewarding occupation compared to students whose parents are not that educated. Notably, parental education has a greater impact on the occupational status of their children than wages. This is a clear indication that students’ qualification perpetuates social inequality within the labor markets.

Additionally, higher learning institutions have been expanding rapidly, which has led to the expansion of the social functions it performs. These institutions are stratified into categories, including mass universities, elite universities, and community colleges, which also reflects class stratification within the workforce. It is becoming obvious that higher education exists to serve as a filtering device for a stratified economy. Notably, universities’ expansion and stratification result in problems for many college students as it suggests a difficult future for them in general throughout their higher education. To ensure equal access to quality education to all students and particularly minority groups, students find themselves trapped in fields that are not of interest. Most students end up in courses they know nothing about. Sometimes, they cannot transfer courses because institutions try and balance the students depending on the number of vacancies available. This perpetuates inequality, as most students don’t complete their studies, which pushes them further into poverty.

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism has to do with not paying attention to structural inequalities when it comes to accessing and opportunity by shifting the responsibility of attaining high quality of education to an individual from the state. Policies of neoliberalism create the illusion that assumes that all students have equal access to quality education not only in tertiary institutions but at all levels of learning (Boni and Melanie, 78). For instance, New York is the state in the United States with some of the most segregated high schools. Additionally, schools in the region serve minority students and low-income students who have a record of the country’s lowest rates of graduation. Learning institutions record grave inequality changes during neoliberal education reforms. Neoliberal education reforms are formed to improve the learning experience through accountability policies and choice. In the current era, institutions that perform well have recorded increased segregation and class and race have led to a negative impact on graduation rates even with the implementation of neoliberal policies. In essence, neoliberal policies have failed to reduce inequality and have reproduced and exacerbated existing racial and class inequalities in higher learning institutions.

Effect of Student Loans on Income Inequality

Student loans remain a pervasive problem in the higher education space in many countries and the United States in particular. Historically, inter-generational mobility in the United States is driven by higher education. In the past few years, student loans have been increasing substantially to the extent of surpassing auto loans and credit cards. Recent statistics reveal that student loans not only affect income inequality but it also perpetuates it. Additionally, other factors such as tuition in a private college and household poverty also have a negative effect on inequality. Students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds often find themselves trapped in debt, which hinders their economic progress. For instance, black families are often already disadvantaged by disparities in generational wealth have to go to great lengths to finance their education. They therefore are more reliant on student loans compared to their male counterparts. The disparities continue after they leave school, where black people face racial discrimination in the job market, limiting their chances to become economically sustainable. Black students experience negative financial events after graduating, such as high-interest loan repayment rates, loan default and lump some debt balances in the graduate school.

Recommendations

If societies want to avoid compounding societal challenges in the coming years resulting from inequalities within the education system there is need to look out for the needs of young people as they are the future. There is a need to develop policies that will ensure physical and human assets of the bottom 40% are developed, including those policies that build human capital and equalize opportunities (Callender and Kevin, 189). Moreover, states should develop regulatory frameworks and policies to ensure the fairness of markets for everyone. Additionally, there is a need to develop mobility policies to help people living in poor areas to improve their lives.

Conclusion

Education and higher education, in particular, plays a double role in society. Education is seen as a means of social change, and at the same time, it plays a hand in exacerbating inequality. Stratification of higher education plays a role in reproducing social inequality within the labor markets. Aspects of students’ educational qualification, including their field of study, program length, and institutional quality affect their wage in their labor markets. Neoliberal policies have failed to reduce inequality, but they have reproduced and exacerbated existing racial and class inequalities in higher learning institutions. Recent statistics reveal that student loans affect income inequality and perpetuate it. Factors such as tuition in a private college and household poverty also have a negative effect on inequality. It is recommended that states should develop regulatory frameworks and policies to ensure the fairness of markets for everyone.

Works Cited

Apple, Michael W. “What is present and absent in critical analyses of neoliberalism in education.” Peabody Journal of Education 92.1 (2017): 148-153.

Berg, Gary A. Low-income students and the perpetuation of inequality: Higher education in America. Routledge, 2016.

Boni, Alejandra, and Melanie Walker. Universities and global human development: Theoretical and empirical insights for social change. Routledge, 2016.

Callender, Claire, and Kevin J. Dougherty. “Student choice in higher education—reducing or reproducing social inequalities?.” Social Sciences 7.10 (2018): 189.