Goals of Education

Goals of Education

Labaree Public Schools for Private Advantage

3-2-1

3 Quotes

-"Schools, it seems, occupy an awkward position at the intersection between what we hope

society will become and what we think it really is, between political and economic realities"

(Labaree, pg 3)

-"I argue that the central problems with education in the United States are not pedagogical or

organizational or social or cultural in nature but are fundamentally political." (Labaree, pg.16)

-"Like other major institutions in American society, education has come to be defined as an 

arena that simultaneously promotes equality and adapts to inequality" (Labaree, pg. 17)

2 Critical Questions

-How do politics transform our social and cultural nature?

-How can we enforce our promotion of equality to result in action against adapted inequality?

1 Summary

Labaree writes about the three alternative goals for American education. These can be summed up as democratic equality, social efficiency, and social mobility. While each of them play a part in our education system, they all have a political pull that leads to inequality. His main point overall is that our education system has become extremely politicized. The challenge is finding the most important goals for our system and making political choices that will influence the social and culture nature of it all. 

 Labree, D; How to Succeed in School Without Really ,The Credentials Race in American Education, Yale University Press, 1997,: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1dr37fc.5