evidence was a reference to the history of the push for higher education on the part of the working class. they did struggle for that early on and you can find some discussions of that in marxist soc. of ed lit.
kelley
At 12:44 PM 7/27/00 -0400, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>Kelley wrote:
>
>>and, of course, don't forget that credential inflation and what brint and
>>karabel call the 'diverted dream' are in operation.
>>
>>credential inflation means that it takes more to be properly credentialed
>>for many jobs than it used to. witness, as one example, what's going on
>>among techies who, for a long time, didn't need formal credentials per se
>>to get into some fairly decent jobs. as the occupation professionalizes
>>itself, however, it expands the formalized credential process which
>>operates as a gatekeeper.
>>
>>diverting dreams is the process whereby the big ten prestigious unis
>>backed the expansion of state and community college systems in order to
>>keep the working class out. they had been increasingly banging on the
>>gates of the ivory tower demanding an education --and not necessarily one
>>that would secure them a job. no, the evidence suggests that they were
>>looking for a liberal arts, rather than technical, education.
>
>Steven Brint & Jerome Karabel's _The Diverted Dream Community Colleges and
>the Promise of Educational Opportunity in America, 1900-1985_ is an
>excellent book, and I recommend it highly. More than half of all
>first-time degree-credit students are now enrolled in community colleges,
>but two thirds of all community college students are enrolled in
>vocational programs, with the emphasis of community colleges having
>shifted from liberal-arts transfer courses to terminal vocational programs.
>
>One thing I'd like to note, however, is that evidence doesn't clearly
>suggest that students are looking for "liberal arts, rather than
>technical, education" (I wish it did), while it is evident that students
>would rather have degrees from four-year colleges & universities than
>community college degrees. One of the perennial complaints of many
>undergrads, be they students in community or four-year colleges, is that
>they have to take courses in liberal arts unrelated to their majors. The
>General Education Curriculum requirements are not very popular at both
>Ohio State University & Columbus State Community College. Student
>evaluations for courses taken for the primary purpose of GEC fulfillment
>is always on average lower than for other courses (essential courses for a
>student's major, etc.). Moreover, if left up to students alone, I'm
>afraid many liberal arts departments (like Classics, Philosophy, Foreign
>Languages & Literatures, etc.) may not survive. I'm concerned about the
>newly adopted policy of "selective investment" at OSU, which determines
>budgets according to each department's academic ranking, student
>enrollment, ability to attract grants & corporate sponsorship, etc.,
>favoring the departments that are deemed already successful while
>penalizing others.
>
>Yoshie