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You
are here: Draft: Education in America:
Current Issues and Future Opportunities
Since 1983, when the Nation at Risk Report was published, public education in America has been in a nearly constant state of ferment and change. The reforms that have resulted from this ferment have been driven by the perception that the quality of education has declined and that America's students have not been receiving an education that will prepare them to compete in the world market place.
Since that report, there has been an unending series of reform efforts designed to improve the academic performance of students that have been likened to waves crashing on a beach. The first wave led to an increased emphasis on basic skills, a focus on the core subjects, the lengthening the school year and school day, and increased graduation requirements. The second wave focused on enhancing teacher professionalism and involve teachers in decision making in an effort to improve schools by moving decisions closer to the level of implementation. Unfortunately, little evidence exists that these waves of reform actually resulted in improved student performance. Consequently, a third wave of reform, often referred to as restructuring, was initiated. It was driven by a belief that previous reform efforts had been too limited in scope and had not responded to the complex problems that face schools. Restructuring called for major changes in how schools were organized, how the school day was structured, and how the curriculum was delivered. Examples included initiatives such as the four period day, multi-age programs, efforts to integrate curriculum, inclusion models in special education, and year round schools.
Even with all of these changes some reformers continue to argue that student performance continues to lag behind other industrialized nations. However, others such as Gerald Bracey (1997) report that American students do no worse than their counterparts in other countries. Further, according to Bracey and others, there is evidence chat American students do much better than is commonly assumed.
Regardless of how positively one views the current performance of students; parents, policymakers, the educational community, and even students themselves, all agree that schools can and do need to do a better job. There are several issues which need to be addressed for that to occur.
Perhaps the greatest issue confronting today's schools is the need to respond to the increasing diversity of the student population. A second issue is chat increasing numbers of today's students are coming to school without the preparation they need to be successful. A third issue is that the knowledge and skills that students need in order to be successful in a global society require fundamental changes in curriculum and instruction that are not currently in place (including the use of technology.) Fourth, for major changes in curriculum and instruction to occur, there needs to be increased support for professional development. A fifth issue is the increasing pressure for schools to hold schools accountable for results in a time of shrinking resources. Finally, schools often need to spend a significant amount of time and energy insuring the health and safety of students.
Despite these issues, there are also some very promising opportunities. Perhaps most important is the continuing interest and high level of support for educational reform While there is a lack of agreement about what a good education should look like, the support for change is clear. Second, there is widespread trust in teachers and administrators to do the right thing (The Public Agenda Report, 1994). Third, there is also a growing recognition that educators are doing a much better job of articulating what students need to know and be able to do, and that they are committed to building a system of education that will produce those results. Fourth, educators and social and health services professionals are beginning to create partnerships that provide coordinated services for students. Finally, there is an increasing understanding that reform requires a clarity of purpose and clear commitment to change that will only occur if we invest in the capacity of educators to do the work that is needed.
The issues and opportunities that have been identified can be significantly impacted by schools that are designed to reflect not only how we seek to educate children, but also that we need to design environments that make it possible for teachers, administrators, social and health services professionals, parents, and the larger community to support and collaborate with each other in coordinated efforts to address the needs of children.
Jerry Bamburg is Co-Director of the Center for Architecture and Education at the University of Washington. He can be reached at (206) 543-3999, or via e-mail at jbamburg@u.washington.edu.
©1998 New Horizons for Learning
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