Historical and Philosophical Analysis of Education Policy, Essay Example

Equality and improved performance in order has been an obsession with the American government for decades. This is a reflection of the micro parental hope for their children. That they do better in school so they may do better in life.

This obsession goes to as far back as Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) a case that up held the segregation of the races in schools in a principle of separate but equal. However few African Americans received equality and the schools received less funding and facilities compared to white schools. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) changed all that during the era of the civil rights movement.

The disparity continues between rich and poor neighborhoods. In which students from rich back grounds get better funding than those in poor areas often full of ethnic minorities. The de-facto segregation came out in the 1970’s in the Coleman Report. In 1997 Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed to help the handicapped. The act was amended in 1990 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). No Child Left behind (NCBL) was an amendment to IDEA.

The philosophy that is employed in the current NCBL is Educational essentialism which advocated by essentialist E.D. Hirsch. He has been a major influencer of education in America for decades. The philosophy believes in traditional basic subjects rigorous testing from simple to complexity over time in what they are taught. NCBL focuses on standardized testing of core subjects. Funding is tied to how well schools do in these core subjects like math and reading. The debates surrounding educational history has been about equality. The act seeks to base it on scientific researched methods of teaching and assessing. It seeks close income and racial gaps in performance across the board. It also gave parents the choice to remove their kids if the schools don’t perform well further bringing equality