Chapter Sixteen: Education – Flashcards

75.5% of public high school students earned a high school diploma within 4 years of entering 9th grade - Rates are even lower for blacks and hispanics (lowest graduation rate of 63.5%) -Rates are highest for Asians at 91.8% America's overall HS graduation rate trails behind those of other wealthy western nations (ex: UK, Portugal, etc. have rates of over 90%) Goal for the US is to have a 90% graduation rate to improve the life changes of young Americans by 2020

Have much higher unemployment rates than other Americans and are particularly vulnerable during economic downturns Earn much less over a lifetime compared to high school graduates (an average of 260,000 dollars less), although high school gradates on average still earn less than half of the annual income of college graduates per year The costs of high school dropout go beyond the individual and affect the nation as a whole, especially in regards to medical expenses (puts a strain on Medicaid and expenditures for uninsured healthcare)

According to national statistics the following are most likely to drop out: Students who attend poor and underperforming schools Students with poor attendance and failing grades Students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds Students who have very little interest or engagement in school Other factors that contribute to individual experience/success in school and future achievement (aside from the effort and willingness to succeed): differences in family background (economic and health status, changes in family structure), the neighborhood, the economy, and the structure, location, and organization of the attending high school

Macrosocial Factors: schools structural/organizational systems, Socioeconomic factors Cultural and psychological factors: abstract and concrete attitudes, the acting white thesis stereotype threat Public-policy influences

Social institution that teaches individuals how to be members of society Through education, we become aware of the common characteristics we share with other members of the same society and have at least sort of knowledge about our society's geographical and political position in the world and its past history

Educational inequalities; disparity on a number of educational measures between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race, ethnicity, ability, and socioeconomic status Indicates that certain groups (ex: african americans and other minorities) have achieved lower scored on standardized tests and other measures of academic success (college entrance and graduation rates) relative to their white counter parts Can be explained by differences in social background, such as the educational and economic resources of one's parents, in addition to intelligence

Level of intellectual ability, particularly as measured by IQ (intellectual quotient) tests Scholars increasingly believe that there are multiple forms of intelligence, but can be generally indicated by a person's IQ

The ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself or others May be just as important in professional and personal successes as is the more intellect-based types of intelligence (IQ)

Intelligence quotient; a score attained on tests of symbolic or reasoning abilities Most IQ tests contain a mixture of conceptual and computational problems Average IQ is 100, anyone above this score has above-average intelligence Commonly used in research studies, schools, and businesses, however researchers remain wary since it is powerfully affected by the socioeconomic resources of one's parents; questions whether intelligence is "innate"

Schools have larger social functions, which include: 1) Schooling as a process of assimilation or acculturation 2) Schooling as a credentialing mechanism 3) Schooling as a process of social (bowles and gintis) or cultural (Bordieu) reproduction (seem to propose an unbreakable cycle)

Maintains that the primary social function of mass education is to create an affinity among members of a society by teaching a common language, and historical/geographical facts through the content of an "official" curriculum in order to promote feelings of nationalism Helps to develop national societies consisted of citizens from different regions who know a common language and history Maintains that the content of education is particularly important in creating a common culture; it helps children develop an image of themselves as Americans with a common history

Maintains that the primary social function of mass education derives from the need for degrees to determine one's credentials for a job, even if the work involved has nothing to do with the education that one has received States that the diploma itself is more important to one's later achievements in life rather than the information and specific skills taught through education institutions; focuses less emphasis on the official curriculum Practice of credentialism over time results in demands for higher credentials, which require higher levels of educational attainment Since educational attainment is closely related to class position, credentialism reinforces the class structure within a society

Refers to the ways in which schools help to perpetuate social and economic inequalities across generations Schools help motivate some individuals toward "achievement" and "success" while discouraging others, who find their way into low-paying jobs

Marxist perspective that emphasizes social reproduction (through the hidden curriculum) as a primary social function of mass education Argues that modern education has expanded as a response to industrial capitalism and certain economic needs; schools are therefore structured to help provide students with the technical and social skills needed by industrial enterprise, and they also teach discipline and respect for authority in the labor force Instead of acting as "the great equalizer," schools simply reproduce social classification stratification Much of what is learned in school has nothing directly to do with the formal content of the official curriculum; schools unconsciously teach students an uncritical acceptance of the existing social order (through the nature of discipline and regimentation) Still acknowledges some importance of the official curriculum however

Refers to traits of behavior or attitudes that are learned at school, but not included in the formal curriculum; the mechanism through which social reproduction occurs Related to the idea that students from different social class backgrounds are provided different types of education, in terms of both curricular materials and the kinds of interactions in which they are engaged by their teachers Suggests that the expansion of education was brought about by employer's needs for certain personality characteristics in their workers, which are taught in schools Schools facilitate the ruling class's need to exploit a docile or cooperative workforce; teach children from underprivileged backgrounds that their role in life is "to know their place and accept it" ex: gender differences

Refers to the ways in which schools help to perpetuate cultural inequalities across generations based on cultural differences

The advantages that well-to-do parents usually provide for their children that tend to be more favored by school systems ex: certain favored class-based sets of dispositions, tastes, demeanors, and speech patterns known as habitus

Refers to a class-based set of dispositions, such as taste, language use, and demeanor that are internalized unconsciously through social practices within one's social group Different classes of children are socialized into a partiular habitus, and the habitus of poor, working-class individuals do not have a habitus that is valued by schools

Focused more on the idea of cultural reproduction rather than the Marxist idea of social reproduction by mirroring class structures in schooling systems Argued that schools reproduce social class inequality by rewarding certain cultural norms over others (reproduction through culture); certain children (middle and upper-class) come to school with more cultural capital (habitus) than others that are valued and rewarded by the school, and other children of low-income or working-class families do not have the same valued cultural characteristics and are placed at a disadvantage in schools

Social and cultural reproduction, although they seem to pose an unbreakable cycle, does not occur without struggle or opposition of oppressed groups Willis: studied "the lads", or working-class industrial workers, who exhibited an implicit understanding ghat schooling is not structured to benefit their group; they participated in the reproduction of their own class subordination The fact that they believe they are in control of their own destiny points to a possibility for organized resistance

Neighborhoods (economic status) School system and classes offered Social backgrounds (family) All impact a student's learning success and future achievement in addition to a student's willingness to do well

Studied "between-school effects," or the ways students' experiences at School A differs from those of School B due to educational inequalities as a result of differences in ethnic background, religion, and national origin, after the Civil Right's Act of 1964 to investigate educational inequalities Concluded that material resources provided in schools made little difference to educational performance; instead, the children's social backgrounds (home, neighborhood, and peer environment) contributed to the most educational inequality between schools

Established that educational and occupational attainment is mainly governed by family backgrounds and non-school related factors, and that on their own, educational reforms can only produce minor effects on existing inequalities

Studied schools in 30 neighborhoods around the US and was startled by the segregation within schools, and the inequalities between them Showed how problems of the city often spilled over into the schools, and how wealthy students believed that poor students lacked motivation and would ultimately fail because of other problems even if they were allocated equal spending for schools Those from poor background conditions that were able to succeed despite the odds only did so with outside intervention (ex: especially devoted parents, support from religious community, or a scholarship opportunity

AKA ability grouping; the process of dividing students into groups that receive different instruction on the basis of assumed similarities in ability or attainment Common practice in American schools Reveals educational inequality within schools; children from more privileged backgrounds, in which academic work is encouraged, are more likely to find themselves in the higher tracks early on and stay there Students in the low tracking group receive a poorer education in terms of the quality of the courses, teachers, and textbooks made available to them; negative effect of tracking affected mostly blacks, latinos, and poor students Tracking reinforces previously existing inequalities for average or poor students but does have positive benefits for advanced students

There has been a recent shift in school discipline toward more punitive policies that mirror current trends in our nation's criminal justice system; this shift has been more acute among schools located in poor areas that are largely attended by members of ethnic minority groups Gun-Free School Zones Act: zero tolerance policy for drugs and weapons on school grounds and has been expanded to include a broad range of misbehavior (has increased racial bias and has led to unnecessary police intervention in schools); "school-to-prison" pipeline Disciplinary practices are influenced by media representations and negative images of youth minorities (causes black boys to view themselves as criminally oriented) Punitive school discipline policies appear to be, in part, a response to low performance in inner-city schools populated by poor minorities

Cultural and psychological factors also influence children's educational opportunities and outcomes Explains race and gender differences in student's academic outcomes These theories propose that ethnic minorities and women are more likely than whites and men to be socialized in a way that may disadvantage them in education and in the workplace Although race and gender disparities in educational outcomes have narrowed over the past half century, a number of gaps still persist today

Black and Latino students lag behind white and Asian students int hero rates of graduating high school This achievement gap is already seen at very young ages; they are likely to score 2 grades behind their white peers in standardized tests at 4th and 8th grades. Although this gap has narrowed between 1992 and today, it still persists

May be used to explain racial disparities in educational outcomes; the thesis that black students do not aspire to or strive to get good grades because it is perceived as "acting white" The achievement gap in part persists because of black student's reluctance to embrace school norms, which the black students associate with white culture Has been challenged in recent years by the idea of differences between abstract and concrete attitudes for these minorities

Achievement attitudes of black students revealed that the students held both abstract and concrete attitudes toward schooling Abstract attitudes: ideas (about education) that are consistent with mainstream societal views -Places a high value on education and the attainment of academic credential for future success Concrete attitudes: ideas (about education) that are based on actual experience -Based on experiences and perception that there are few options for them in terms of entrance into higher education or lucrative careers even if they were to obtain a diploma Black and latino students overwhelmingly believe in the importance of school and the need for educational credentials

People who draw from both their home culture and mainstream culture to create an attitude that allows them to succeed Most successful students are not necessarily the ones who assimilate to white, mainstream speech patterns, styles, and tastes, but are cultural navigators instead Schools should therefore promote intercultural communications and understanding within communities, parents, and students to mitigate unequal academic outcomes

Boys used to be better at girls on standardized tests as soon as the middle years of secondary education- particularly in math and science Recent years have seen a convergence and a reversal in the gender gap: both genders scored roughly the same on a standardized tests in reading (boys did a little better than girls in math, and girls did a little better than boys in math), however females became more likely to attend a 4 year college immediately after HS graduation (particularly pronounced gap among african americans) and were more likely to graduate 4 year colleges Today, the gender gap places girls ahead of boys, but this is unlikely to remain constant

The differences between women and men- especially as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes

Girls are doing better in schools today because of changes in the economy: new opportunities for women in the new service economy, and less factory jobs (traditionally a male terrain) due to new technologies and outsourcing to developing countries Achievements of women's movement have increased women's self-esteem and self expectations; teachers have also become more aware of gender discrimination in the classroom through the women's movement, and can now incorporate gender-neutral methods of teaching and by encouraging more girls to explore traditionally "male" subjects

Although girls have forged ahead, they are still less likely than boys to choose subjects in school for careers in technology, science, and engineering Boys pull away from girls in science at age 11 and continue to outperform girls through college Women continue to be disadvantaged in the job market despite that they are entering college at higher rates

Explains different educational outcomes between white and minority students in social psychological terms The idea that when black or female students believe that they are being judged not as individuals but as members of a negatively stereotyped social group, they will do worse on tests

Research conducted by sociologists has played a major role in educational system reform Coleman's research, commissioned as part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, was undertaken to influence educational policy; on the basis of the act, it was decided in the courts that segregated schools violated the rights of minority pupils - Instead of attacking the origins of educational inequalities directly (like Jencks later work suggested was necessary), the courts decided that each district should achieve a similar racial balance; this was achieved through bussing students to other schools

Practice established in 1970 (as a result of Coleman's research) Aimed towards ending de facto segregation of public schools caused by white students living in predominantly white neighborhoods and black students living in predominantly black neighborhoods by busing students to other schools in order to achieve a similar racial balance in public schools Provoked a great deal of opposition and violence in some cases, especially from whites, but was still met with great success by reducing levels of school segregation quite steeply (particularly in the south) Also had unintended consequences: some whites responded by putting their children into private schools or by moving to mainly white suburbs where busing wasn't practiced -As a result, some schools in the cities are virtually as segregated as old schools were in the past Only one factor to "white flight" of the whites to the suburbs; they also left as a result of urban decay to escape city crowding, housing problems, and rising crime rates

The most prominent issue regarding the american educational system is functional illiteracy: most of the US population can read and write at a very basic level, but about 13% of all 17 year olds are functionally illiterate (cannot read or write at the 4th grade level); among minority youth functionally illiterate are 44% of 17 year-olds he US lags behind most other industrial countries in terms of its level of functional illiteracy, since many functionally illiterate are not recent immigrants at all To rectify this, we need to improve the quality of teaching, either by increasing teachers' pay or by introducing performance-related pay scales with higher salaries going to the teachers who are most effective in the classroom, giving schools more control over their own budgets (reform has occurred in Britain; giving schools more control over their budgets will create a greater drive to improve the school) -Further proposals include the refunding of programs such as Head Start to ensure healthy early child development and save millions of dollars in later costs or by privatizing education

In the 1960s, some politicians, educators, etc pushed for greater equality and universal access to education through initiatives (busing, multicultural education, bilingual eduction, open admissions to college, the establishment of ethnic studies programs on campuses, and more equitable funding schemes) to support civil rights and equality of education Educational policies in the 21st century still aim to provide quality education for all children and to close the achievement gap

Most significant piece of federal legislation influencing education int he past 2 decades Implements a host of policies meant to improve academic outcomes for all children and to close the achievement gap The most expansive and comprehend ice piece of legislation passed since 1965, addressing virtually every aspect of education (testing, school choice, teacher quality, education of english language learners, military recruitment in schools, school discipline) Top of the agenda was instituting standardized testing as a means of measuring students' academic performance Provides a strong push for school choice in the spirit of competition; low performing schools, at a risk of losing students, thus jeopardize their funding and become subject to closure No longer requires states to offer non-english speaking students bilingual education; emphasizes learning english overt support learning objectives and favors English-only program models

A situation in which all students take the same test under the same conditions as a means of assessment Has recently encouraged american teachers to "teach to the test" The emphasis on testing also has the unintended consequence of narrowing course offerings to focus much more heavily on tested subject areas while cutting time in science, social studies, music, art, and PE

Emphasis on standardized testing has caused more and more teachers to "teach to the test" by encouraging them to teach a narrow set of skills that will increase students' test performance rather than helping them to acquire an in-depth understanding of important concepts and skills Others see it as a punitive model of school reform and note that achievement gaps have not changed and that the policy neglects the important fact that the broader socioeconomic context affects school functioning

Obama may not be effective for all school systems, however he granted waivers from BCLB requirements to 27 states, allowing them to develop their own standards and exempting them from the 2014 targets set by the law In exchange for flexibility, those states have agreed to raise standards, improve accountability, and undertake essential reforms to improve teacher effectiveness

Implemented by the Obama administration A contest created to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education Creates a system in which states are awarded points for satisfying certain educational policies such as performance-based standards for teachers and principals, meeting nationwide standards, promoting charter schools and privatization of education, and computerization

High-stakes testing is unreliable for measuring teachers performance, charter schools weaken public education, and the federal gov should not influence local schools High-stakes testing has not worked in the past

Won't be solved by educational reforms alone, no matter how thoroughgoing; inequalities and barriers in educational opportunity reflect wider social divisions and tensions While the US remains racked by racial tensions and the polarization between decaying cities and affluent suburbs persists, the crisis in the school system is likely to prove difficult to turn around Anyon: argues that not until educational reform is linked to more sweeping economic reforms, such s job creation and training programs and corporate tax reform, will schools improve

There are large cross-national in literacy; problem because literacy is the "baseline" of education; without it, school cannot proceed High rates of literacy in the West is a relatively modern feat although it is often taken for grated Roughly 15% of the world's population is illiterate; women are more likely than men to be illiterate Over 23% of the people in developing countries are illiterate, however younger generations in nearly every region of the world have higher literacy rates than the previous -These generational gaps vary widely by region Lowest illiteracy rates are in Sub-saharan Africa, and in South and West Asia (within these regions there is great heterogeneity) Highest literacy rates are in Central Asia, Central and eastern Europe in which almost 100% of the population is literate Us has a literacy rate below 90%

These patterns are best understood from a historical perspective: reflects enduring consequences of colonialism

During colonialism, governments regarded education with some wariness: until the 1900s, most colonial governments believed indigenous populations were too primitive to be worth educating Later, education was seen as a way of making local elites responsive to European interests and ways of life (although sometimes sparked discontent and rebellion; the majority of those who led anticolonial and nationalist movements were educated elites who had attended schools in Europe and had learned about democracy) The education that the colonizers introduces usually pertained to Europe instead of the colonial areas themselves Policies of educational reform still since the end of colonialism have not completely altered the situation even today Some developing countries, recognizing the shortcomings of the curricula inherited from colonialism, have tried to redirect their educational programs toward the rural poor in an effort to raise literacy rates -Limited success: there is usually insufficient funding to pay for the scale of necessary innovations; as a result, some countries like India have begun programs of self-help education in which communities draw on existing resources without treating demands for high levels of finance by helping others

Arose partly as a result of the legacy of colonial education, which was not directed towards a majority of the population, the educational system in many developing countries is top-heavy: the higher education is disproportionately developed, relative to primary and secondary education Result is an overly qualified group who, having attended colleges, cannot find white-collar or professional jobs Given the low level of industrial development, most of the better paid positions are in government (limited jobs)

While technology can be used for fun and for socializing, it has also shaped how, where, and with whom we learn ; the spread of information technology looks set to influence education in a number of fundamental ways New technologies are affecting the nature of work by replacing some types of human work with machines The pace of technological change is creating a more rapid turnover of jobs than once was the case Education can no longer be regarded as a stage of preparation before an individual enters work; as technology changes, necessary skills change, and even if education is seen from a purely vocational point of view (providing skills relevant to work), most observers agree that lifelong exposure to education will be needed in the future

The rise of education in its modern sense was connected with a number of other major changes happening in the 1800s -the development of the school -the development of printing and the arrival of book culture Growing use of computers and multimedia technologies in education -"edutainment" Around 70-80% of telecommunications trials conducted in the emerging multimedia technologies around the world involve education or at least have an education component Markets and information technology are major influences on educational change in contemporary social life; the commercialization and marketing of education also reflects such pressures -Schools are being reengineered to resemble business corporations

Schools arose as apart of the administrative apparatus of the modern state The hidden curriculum was about discipline and the control of children

The mass distribution of books, newspapers, and other print media was as distinctive a feature of the development of industrial societies as were machines and factories Education developed also to provide literacy and computational skills- giving access to the world of printed media Textbooks are one of the most important aspects of schools

Jobs that are a sort of parallel education industry linked to the software industry in general and to museums, science parks, and heritage areas

The state of people who have little or no access to information technology, such as computers May be added to the material deprivations that currently have such an effect on schooling to further reinforce educational inequalities

The pace of technological change and the demand of empoyers for computer-literate workers may mean that those who are technology competent leapfrog over others that have little exerpeicne with computers Some fear of the emergence of a "computer underclass" in Western societies; although developed countries have the highest levels of computer and internet usage, there are stark inequalities in computer use within those societies -Many schools are suffering from underfunding and long-standingneglect; even if given computer hardware, they must gain the technical expertise and ability to teach information technology skills to pupils (costly, since such teachers are more likely to work for private schools who will pay them more; many schools struggling to attract and keep IT teachers) Even larger digital divide between Western classrooms and the classrooms of the developing world -As the global economy becomes increasingly knowledge based, there is a danger that poorer countries will become even more marginalized because of the gap between the information rich and information poor Internet access has become a new line of demarcate between the rich and poor although some IT enthusiasts argue otherwise wight he idea that it can provide distance-learning for those of developing countries; however, underdeveloped regions that struggle with mass illiteracy and lack telephone lines and electricity need an improved education al infrastructure before they can truly benefit from distance-learning programs -The internet cannot be substituted for direct contact between teachers and pupils under poor conditions of some developing countries

New technologies and the rise of the knowledge economy are transforming traditional ideas about work and education - faster turnover of jobs in modern society -training and attainment of qualifications now occur throughout one's life rather than just early in life (ex: mid-career professionals are increasingly choosing to update their skills through continuing programs and internet based learning) and in on-the job training to improve the company's skill base The idea of education, implying the structured transmission of knowledge within a formal education, is giving way to a broader notion of learning within diverse settings

The shift from education to learning is not inconsequential: Learners are active, curious social actors who can derive insights from a multiplicity of sources, not just within an institutional setting - Emphasis on learning acknowledges that skills and knowledge can be gained through all types of encounters The shift toward lifelong learning can already be seen within schools themselves, where there is a growing number of opportunities for pupils to learn outside the classroom - ex: service learning (adding volunteer requirements outside of the classroom, especially in secondary schooling) Boundaries between schools and the outside world are breaking in both cyberspace and the physical world Lifelong learning plays a role n the move toward a knowledge society; it is essential to both a well trained and motivated workforce, and is an essential means to an end in the development of a well-rounded, autonomous self-eduction in the service of self-defelopement and self-understanding -Reflects the humanistic ideas of education developed by educational philosophers

Electronic networks of interaction between individuals at different computer terminals

Scores on IQ tests correlate highly with academic performance (IQ tests were originally developed to predict success in school), and social, economic, and ethnic differences (other variations in levels of educational attainment) All societies have oppressed ethnic groups; low status, often coupled with discrimination and mistreatment, leads to socioeconomic deprivation, group segregation, and a stigma of inferiority - These factors often prevent racial minorities from obtaining education, and consequently their scores on standardized intelligence tests are lower Although thee are genetic variations between individuals that may influences scores on IQ tests, these have no overall connection to racial differences

White students score better, on average, than blacks or members of other disadvantaged minorities Originally thought to be due to genetic variations in heredity between the two races (Herrnstein and Murray Study in 1994) -Hernnstein study also states that the smarter an individual is, the greater the change he or she will rise in the social scale (individuals with higher IQs will succeed in life more so than individuals with lower IQs); drastically overemphasized the correlation between IW on a person's later achievements -Tested with the AFQT (a short that tests IQ, does not necessarily measure intelligence, but only how much a person as learned in school) Average of 16 points difference on IQ tests between whites and blacks Berkeley sociologists found that intelligence is only one factor among many that predict how well people do in life - Effects of socioeconomic background on a young adult's risk for later poverty are substantially greater than Hernstein and Murray predicted -IQ is closely associated with one's level of education attainment - The relationship between race and intelligence is also best explained by social rather than biological causes

The social factors of education, gender, community conditions, gender, community conditions, marital status, current economic conditions, and (perhaps most important) parent's socioeconomic status best predict one's occupational and economic success rather than intelligence

The average gap in IQ score of blacks as compared to whites in the US is remarkably similar to that of deprived ethnic minorities in other countries such as the Untouchables or the burakumin (burakumin study) Many observations (fixed IQ gap between minorities of nations and the majority ethnicity, the burakumin study, and the rising IQ scores) suggest that the IQ variations between blacks and whites int he US result from social and cultural differences

Burakumin: descendants of people i the 18th century, as a result of local wars, were dispossessed from their land and became outcasts and vagrants Not physically distinct from other Japanese (no genetic differences) but have suffered from prejudice and discrimination for centuries IQ difference between Japanese and burakumin is still about as fixed as that between blacks and whites; burakumin raised in America, where they are treated like other Japanese, also do as well on IQ tests as other Japanese

IQ tests are regularly updated; when old tests are given and the new tests are given to the same group of people, they score significantly higher on old tests (reflective of social changes and increasing prosperity rather than changes in innate intelligence over the generations) Present day children outscored the children of the 1930s by an average of 15 points Children today are not innately superior in intelligence to the previous generations

Increased in popularity in recent decades Means that a child is taught by his or her parens, guardians, or a team of adults who oversee the child's educational development Curricula studied by homeschooled children vary widely from state to state, with some states mandating strict curricula and others give the parents great leeway White students had a higher homeschooling rate than blacks (lowest homeschooling rate) and hispanics, but were not measurably different from students of other racial/ethnic groups

Concern about the school environment (85%), a desire to provide religious or moral instruction (72%), and dissatisfaction with the academic instruction at other schools (68%) Difficult to gauge how well homeschooling prepares young adults for the future challenges of college or employment, since homeschooling is a selective process (traits that "select" people into homeschooling may also affect their later prospects' any children who are homeschooled; many children who are homeschooled have several social advantages, including wealthier or more stable families, than others), and because it is hard to describe definitively the experience of homeschoolers because they are such a diverse group, representing every possible religious, political, and spiritual orientation

Number studying at universities in the US has skyrocketed in recent years; the US takes in more foreign students than any other country Most foreign students in the US today come from Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan, India, and South Korea) At the undergrad level, more than 21% focus on business and management, 19% focus on engineering, and 9 percent study physical and lives cinches, math and computer sciences, and social sciences

Some complain that the influx of foreign students deprives deserving Americans of educational op[portunities- especially given the increasingly competitiv nature of the US higher education system Although more than 2/3 receive no scholarships, some receive financial inducements to attend American schools (outcry is highest against this at public universities, which receive support from tax revenues; taxpayers should not help families who have not paid US taxes and students who are likely to go home after earning a degree

The exchange of international students is a vital component of globalization Foreign students, in addition to serving as global carriers of specialized technical and scientific knowledge, play an important cultural role in the globalizing process -Helps minimize xenophobia and isolationist attitudes as we coexist by developing social ties with one another and make good impressions on american culture US receives economic, political, and cultural benefits from having educated millions of foreign business executives, policy makers, scientists and professions- many of whom become sympathetically disposed to the US after studying here Most students are supported by their parents; foreign students pump hundreds of millions of dollars each year into the US economy

Greater effort should be made to recruit foreign students, help them select the correct university and programs, and to provide them with a positive social and educational experience in the US More students here should study abroad - American students are notorious for having cultural and linguistic ignorance of other countries, which puts the US at a disadvantage as the world becomes increasingly globalized -Encouraging students to study abroad can be the best way to inculcate a global worldview More and more US students are studying abroad