Education Reform in Alabama: Challenges, Perceptions, and Why We Should Care

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1998
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
This thesis will consider the effects of inadequate and unequal funding of educational training in the state of Alabama, and finally its suboptimal provision. Education is defined for these purposes as the acquisition of practical skills for the economy of the 21st century, as measured through rates of verbal and mathematical proficiency, and standardized test scores. It is the author's goal to focus directly on what the state of Alabama can contribute to that end, in an effort to improve the standing of our state relative to others and to provide a model whereby other states facing similar conditions can learn and benefit. Therefore federal solutions will be mentioned only in passing. The writing of this thesis has made clear one resounding fact: no one reform appears to be both politically feasible and effective in its goal if applied alone. The greatest challenge, as with many political affairs, is to fashion an acceptable solution for addressing the issue at hand which is not overly diluted to amass the crucial political support. While numerous and innovative policies have been put forth in the past, it appears that nearly each one has been defeated either at the hands of voters who believe the state and school officials are not doing enough to improve efficiency with existing resources, or the latter who claim there is only so much they can do without an addition to funding and equity improvements in the way that funding is distributed. With this in mind, it is crucial that both sides cooperate and meet each other halfway. It stands to reason that education will not suddenly and dramatically improve just by a tightening of the system's bootstraps, and it is equally unlikely that any new funding initiatives will be sustained in the absence of a clear plan of action and visible results. Our state educational system can be thought of as a sort of accountable private corporation attempting to convince its shareholding owners of the importance of a new long-term investment. That investment is in the future of our state and country, and will hopefully be furthered by the solution offered to close this analysis.
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