Equal Opportunity and Access to Higher Education in Ohio
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Transcript of Equal Opportunity and Access to Higher Education in Ohio
Seminar for Social Immersion ProjectHonors & Scholars CenterHale Center, Ohio State University – January 24th 2011
Instructor: Jason ReeceSenior Researcher, Opportunity Communities ProgramKirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity, Moritz College of Law33 West 11th Ave, Room 204; E-mail: [email protected]
Access to higher education Unequal access to higher education as a form of
inequity
Understanding the impacts of inequity on our state and society
How do we understand disparate outcomes in education in Ohio? What drives it?
What can we do to improve it?
Multidisciplinary applied research institute Our mission is to expand opportunity for
all, especially for our most marginalized communities
Founded in 2003 by john powell (executive director) Opportunity Communities Program
▪ Opening pathways to opportunity for marginalized communities through investments in people, places and supporting linkages
▪ Disrupting systems of disadvantage
▪ Opportunity mapping, Regional Equity, Neighborhood Revitalization, Opportunity Based Housing
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About me….
About you…. What’s your background?
What inspired you to participate in this program?
Are there particular questions or topics you would like me to address?
A Form of Inequity in Ohio
What do you think? Why Should we about access to higher education
in Ohio, or in our nation?
Is their “fair” access to higher education in Ohio?
For Ohio 9th graders Less than 3 in 4 will graduate
High School
Less than 2 out of 3 of those graduates will go to college
Only 1 in 2 of those will graduate in 6 years
Resulting in only 1 in 5 earning a bachelors degree
Source: Data and information derived from presentation by Nancy Nestor Baker, available on-line at: http://principalsoffice.osu.edu/files/zone.8.08.knowledge.php
For new jobs in our economy About 7 in 10 new jobs require post secondary education Only 1 in 10 are accessible for those with less than a high school
diploma The recession has made these conditions worse (more
competition)
Systemic barriers to higher education and disparate educational outcomes are a sign of inequity in Ohio What is inequity? ▪ Disparities between groups (systematic group level disparities)
▪ Not having fairness or treating all groups fairly, barriers blocking access to opportunity for some groups
Conversely, providing greater access to higher education is an example of promoting greater equity in the state
Understanding Inequity
Who is impacted? Class Race/Ethnicity Gender Language Place/Geography Disability Sexual Orientation Age Other????
Intersectionality Interaction of various factors on
multiple scales▪ For more information review the writings of
Kimberle Krenshaw
Other potential dimensions to inequity
• Disparate impact of policies• Often institutional and/or
structural in nature• Durable inequality• Cumulative disadvantage • Denial of opportunity• Groups left out of the democratic
process• Limited political voice• Limited agency
Is their inequity in the US? Yes, and it is growing in many ways
How does this manifest? In various ways for various populations Example:
▪ Disparity: gaps in outcomes for whole group population How do we explain this? Personal or cultural characteristics, institutional or
structural causes Culture of poverty, cumulative disadvantage, The
underclass
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Although racial attitudes are improving steadily, racial disparities persist on every level. Income, poverty, employment, health, crime, incarceration,
education, assets, housing, among others
National Racial Disparities 2003
34.8%
71.5%
10.1%
24.7% 23.9%
46.3%
21.9%16.8%
47.3%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
Poverty Rate College GraduationRate
HomeownershipRate
White African American Hispanic
National Racial Disparities 2003
$88,000
$46,310
$29,772
$6,000
$34,751
$7,900
$-
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
$70,000
$80,000
$90,000
$100,000
Median HH Income Median HH Net Worth
White African American Hispanic
How do we understand these disparities if they are not explained by personal discrimination or explicit laws and policies? When do disparities matter?
Three sources: Biology: Much less prevalent today, but was a common explanation
during the 19th and early 20th centuries; theories of racial, ethnic, and gender inferiority.
Individuals & Culture: Idea that individuals alone can (and should) rise above their conditions of poverty, and the idea of a defective “culture of poverty”.
Structures & Institutions: States that even within neutral arrangements and without discriminatory actors, disparities can still exist.
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Outcomes
&
Behaviors
Social
Physical
Cultural
These structures interact in ways that produce racialized outcomes for different groups, but also in ways that influence identity and culture
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Five decades of research indicate that your environment has a profound impact on your access to opportunity and likelihood of success
High poverty areas with poor employment, underperforming schools, distressed housing and public health/safety risks depress life outcomes A system of disadvantage Many manifestations
▪ Urban, rural, suburban
People of color are far more likely to live in opportunity deprived neighborhoods and communities Social determinants of race: Where
you live dictates access to opportunity structures and also determines racial norms
…to a multi-dimensional understanding….
• Structural Inequality– Example: a Bird in a cage.
Examining one bar cannot explain why a bird cannot fly. But multiple bars, arranged in specific ways, reinforce each other and trap the bird.
• One variable can explain why differential outcomes.
26Source: Barbara Reskin. http://faculty.uwashington.edu/reskin/
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Some people ride the “Up” escalator to reach
opportunity
Others have to run up the “Down” escalator to get there
Direct Education IndicatorsSchool poverty rateAverage teaching experiencePercent reading proficiency - 11th gradePercent writing proficiency - 11th gradePercent math proficiency - 11th gradeGraduation rate 2004-2005Percent of teachers with Bachelor's degreePercent of teachers with Master's degreeTotal hardware/software (computer expenditure)Access to librariesPercent associates degree or higher
Other Neighborhood IndicatorsPercent povertyPercent unemployed
Access to prenatal careTotal crime indicatorPercent of houses owner-occupiedPercent of houses vacantHousing median valueChild poverty rateMedian household income
Educational Opportunity Map for
Ohio: Ohio’s Geography of
Educational Opportunity
SOUTHWEST OHIO SOUTHWEST CENTRAL OHIO
Impacts of Inequity
We are all caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever effects one directly effects all indirectly.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Individual Poor economic outcomes, lower educational outcomes,
degraded asset development
Poor health conditions, higher exposure and risk from crime
Psychological distress, weak social and professional networks Community/Economy High social costs, distressed and stressed communities, fiscal
challenges
Weakened civic engagement and democratic participation
Underdeveloped human capital, poor labor outlook, poor economic development prospects
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Richard Florida states in Flight of the Creative Class: “Rising inequality is a deadweight drag on our economic competitiveness…The basic
formula is simple: Those companies, regions and countries that reduce waste and effectively harness their productive assets have a huge advantage in the Darwinian competition that powers creative capitalism.”
Rondinelli, Johnson and Kasarda argue that the marginalization found in core urban communities and declining geographic/social mobility threaten to undermine hopes of adjusting economic development to the global economy. “…the expanding underclass that is concentrated in the cores of U.S. cities is ill prepared
educationally and psychologically for productive work and technological change…”
The State’s economic future is dependent on its most plentiful natural resource, human capacity and innovation
Without addressing the various inequities facing the state, our future is compromised
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Building Greater Equity in Education
Many solutions…but resources and public will to implement them are the primary barriers to resolving
Our Approach Investing in People, Places and Linkages
▪ Bringing opportunity to distressed communities, bridging opportunities to those who are disconnected from our educational resources
▪ Providing holistic support to Ohio’s students and communities▪ Engaging disadvantaged communities and families
What would you do? What is your solution?
[email protected] 33 West 11th Ave, Room 204 A
The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity
On-line at: www.kirwaninstitute.org
www.race-talk.org
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