February 20th, 2008
Higher Ed Key to Economic Mobility, says Brookings
Just a quick post today to highlight a new study released by the Brookings Institution, reporting that increasing gaps in higher education are widening the gulf between the lower and middle economic classes. The New York Times summarizes the findings:
The authors of the study, by scholars at the Brookings Institution in Washington and sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, warned that widening gaps in higher education between rich and poor, whites and minorities, could soon lead to a downturn in opportunities for the poorest families.
Entry into professional careers, the primary path to a middle-class life, increasingly requires a bachelor’s degree. And despite affirmative action and new financial aid incentives, poor and minority students still aren’t getting to (or staying in) college in the same numbers that affluent, primarily white and Asian students are.
Can online education help with this phenomenon? Can we use it to increase access, or does the digital divide still create barriers?
[...] how does this impact education in our country as a whole? (A recent post by our resident muse might give us a clue.) Let’s look at a couple of [...]
Pingback by WorldWideBlog » Stanford Jumps on Free Tuition Bandwagon — February 21, 2008 @ 6:32 am
With 93% of this nation’s wealth controlled by 10% of the population (or is it 7% now?), the middle class is getting larger and larger…..makes this forecast even more depressing.
Comment by redhead — February 21, 2008 @ 6:42 pm