Role of Education in Country Development Report Paper Example

Introduction

The rapid development of technological innovations, liberalization, and communication technologies has immensely affected nations across the globe. Education constitutes one of the development goals of both developed and developing countries. It is a common practice seeing the development partners, legislators, community-based organizations lobbying for best policies for steering and transforming the standards of education in a country, the United States hasn't been an exception because education plays a fundamental in shaping the future development of the states. This essay will explore education as a development issue in the U.S with a view of providing practical policy interventions for the development of the education sector.

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United States Country Profile

The United States of America is one of the largest continents in the world with a federal district, 50 states and self-governing territories which are five. It covers approximately over nine million square per kilometer and is one of the populous continents with over 300million people. The United States of America is governed by the House of Representatives and the federal government with Donald Trump being the current president. It is also important to appreciate that America was one of Britain's colonies and gained independence in 1776 after series of French Wars and American Revolution. The country is governed by the constitution which was adopted way back in 1778 (Shrestha, 2011). The United States has magnificent geography, wildlife and favorable climate which makes it the most megadiverse country across the globe. It is also the surviving federation in history where the majority rule is moderated by the rights of the minority enshrined in the constitution and guarded by the rule of law.

The United States of America is among the pioneers of several known international institutions and organizations like the Organization of American States, the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It boasts of inventing the world's sophisticated technologies, nuclear weapons, space exploration technologies and as the most industrialized country hence one of the superpower nations (Lipset, 2013). It is highly developed with a per capita of approximately $59.501 and an estimated nominal GDP of $19.390 trillion. The key enablers of the U.S economy are the manufacturing and service sectors. Despite the promising development noted in the country, it is worth noting that the country has wealth and income inequalities and also a big share of the country's GDP is spent on the military.

Education as a Development Issue

The education system in the United States has a similar pattern with other countries, the phases include the early childhood education, elementary school, high school, and the tertiary which incorporates the non-degree and degree programs. In terms of educational performance, the country is ranked 17th globally. Education is provided by both the private, home schools and the public, with the quality standards set by the states governments (Goldring, Gray & Bitterman, 2013). Schooling is a compulsory requirement in the U.S until age 16 in a majority of the states and Americans are entitled to free access to public schooling even though the private schooling is available at own cost. The country's educational assessment is primarily based on the rate of graduation.

Americans have strong reading and writing culture and libraries are readily available in the country, an institution which is considered as essential in achieving the educational goals. The rate of purchase and borrowing of books is impressive as compared to other countries across the world. Despite the developments made in the education sector with regards to funding, educational facilities, equipment, and access, there's lots of disparity in the education sector. Racial discrimination remains of the challenges facing the sector since the majority of the graduates are whites (Spring, 2016). The quality and quantity of education have also deteriorated over the years especially on the high school diplomas. There has also been a disparity in the school enrolment and funding. There exist unequal education funding among the affluent and the less affluent. The children from the affluent community's schools' are heavily funded hence contributing to the high cases of school drop-outs. The under-funding of some schools has compromised the quality and the learning condition in some schools thus propagating uneven development among the states.

Cases of the mass shooting in schools have also demoralized teachers and students because of the risks involved. The sector has also reported massive resignation of the teachers annually due to various issues ranging from family to the working condition. Majority of the schools are crowded with students from low-income earning families hence causing the congestion in the classrooms thus affecting the quality and the desired access. The issues of LGBTQ has adversely affected the school's enrolment due to the fear of discrimination on the sexual and gender identity (Spring, 2016). The education system has been perceived as inefficient in preparing the students for the realities of the world's dynamics, the education system hardly instills the required knowledge and skills needed in the world's job market (Wendler, Bridgeman, et.al, 2010).

Policy Interventions for Educational Development

The challenges facing the education sector in the United States can be addressed through several policy interventions which include renovation and equipping of the schools with the modern facilities and expansion to decongest the overcrowded public schools. This can be achieved by increasing state expenditure on education for infrastructural development. The government needs to conduct performance appraisal for the teachers and reward generously without bias to boost teaching morale and accountability (Cochran-Smith, Piazza & Power, 2013). Security is essential for both the teachers and the students hence the state governments should tighten the gun control legislation and provide proper surveillance of the schools. The state governments need to initiate programs that enable the students to get firsthand exposure on the workplace experience and technical training. The governments need to create enabling environments that dignify the teaching profession through proper pay and training as professionals (Nelson, 2013). More importantly, there's a need for parents to have quality time with their children by reviewing the working schedules for working parents with the school schedules to ensure proper child care.

Conclusion

Summarily, education remains fundamental in the transformation of a country. The increasing development in technological innovations has presented great opportunities for the review of the teaching of the curriculum to prepare the students to the global dynamics in the job market. The states governments need to work collaboratively with all stakeholders in the education fraternity to provide an enabling environment for safe schooling to realize the desired educational development goals in the United States.

References

Cochran-Smith, M., Piazza, P., & Power, C. (2013, January). The politics of accountability: Assessing teacher education in the United States. In The Educational Forum (Vol. 77, No. 1, pp. 6-27). Taylor & Francis Group.

Goldring, R., Gray, L., & Bitterman, A. (2013). Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Teachers in the United States: Results from the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey. First Look. NCES 2013-314. National Center for Education Statistics.

Lipset, S. M. (2013). Continental divide: The values and institutions of the United States and Canada. Routledge.

Nelson, R. R. (2013). National Innovation Systems: It is. In Regional Innovation And Global (pp. 19-34). Routledge.

Shrestha, L. B. (2011). Changing demographic profile of the United States. DIANE Publishing.

Spring, J. (2016). Deculturalization and the struggle for equality: A brief history of the education of dominated cultures in the United States. Routledge.

Wendler, C., Bridgeman, B., Cline, F., Millett, C., Rock, J., Bell, N., & McAllister, P. (2010). The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate Education in the United States. Educational Testing Service.