Systems in Need of Activism: Considering the Effects of Segregation and Policy on French and US Primary and Secondary Education

Julia A. Gorham; Kris Aric Knisely

doi:10.1353/mml.2018.0019

Systems in Need of Activism: Considering the Effects of Segregation and Policy on French and US Primary and Secondary Education

French and Italian

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	183-221
Number of pages	39
Journal	Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association
Volume	51
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1353/mml.2018.0019
State	Published - Sep 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Literature and Literary Theory

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10.1353/mml.2018.0019

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@article{fd38c41c8f2248adb01fec3b15536d63,

title = "Systems in Need of Activism: Considering the Effects of Segregation and Policy on French and US Primary and Secondary Education",

author = "Gorham, {Julia A.} and Knisely, {Kris Aric}",

note = "Funding Information: Such a notion of education as a panacea for societal ills may seem upheld by the importance of equality as both a philosophical and an official mission in Western national education systems. Moreover, Ottaway emphasizes that because educational institutions are the product of the society in which they operate, they are considered to be founded upon and intended to reinforce the fundamental values of that particular culture (10; Carr and Landon 21). Such a statement suggests that the educational models of the United States and France—as Western democracies rooted in the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “liberty, equality, fraternity” respectively— would support these core tenets. This hypothesis is supported by the Funding Information: In particular, residential segregation engenders geographic disparities in population distribution based on socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity (Squires and Kubrin 348). This uneven repartition of residents is observed in both nations and is aggravated by local procedures dictating school funding and the geographic distribution of qualified teachers. Because schools in the US receive as much as 92% of their total funding from local sources, consisting primarily of tax revenues, institutions located in areas of reduced average income are underfunded and thus provide students with fewer educational materials and supplemental opportunities (US Department of Education; Semuels). A similar funding imbalance is observed in the French system despite increased financial support of acad{\'e}mies by the Ministry of Education. Considerable inequalities in funds provided by regional communes offset the government{\textquoteright}s uniform allocations, contributing to a paucity of resources and extracurricular activities supplied to students in the poorest areas (Zymelman 22).",

year = "2018",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1353/mml.2018.0019",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "51",

pages = "183--221",

journal = "Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association",

issn = "0742-5562",

publisher = "Midwest Modern Language Association",

number = "2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Systems in Need of Activism

T2 - Considering the Effects of Segregation and Policy on French and US Primary and Secondary Education

AU - Gorham, Julia A.

AU - Knisely, Kris Aric

N1 - Funding Information: Such a notion of education as a panacea for societal ills may seem upheld by the importance of equality as both a philosophical and an official mission in Western national education systems. Moreover, Ottaway emphasizes that because educational institutions are the product of the society in which they operate, they are considered to be founded upon and intended to reinforce the fundamental values of that particular culture (10; Carr and Landon 21). Such a statement suggests that the educational models of the United States and France—as Western democracies rooted in the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “liberty, equality, fraternity” respectively— would support these core tenets. This hypothesis is supported by the Funding Information: In particular, residential segregation engenders geographic disparities in population distribution based on socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity (Squires and Kubrin 348). This uneven repartition of residents is observed in both nations and is aggravated by local procedures dictating school funding and the geographic distribution of qualified teachers. Because schools in the US receive as much as 92% of their total funding from local sources, consisting primarily of tax revenues, institutions located in areas of reduced average income are underfunded and thus provide students with fewer educational materials and supplemental opportunities (US Department of Education; Semuels). A similar funding imbalance is observed in the French system despite increased financial support of académies by the Ministry of Education. Considerable inequalities in funds provided by regional communes offset the government’s uniform allocations, contributing to a paucity of resources and extracurricular activities supplied to students in the poorest areas (Zymelman 22).

PY - 2018/9

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U2 - 10.1353/mml.2018.0019

DO - 10.1353/mml.2018.0019

M3 - Article

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SN - 0742-5562

IS - 2

ER -

Systems in Need of Activism: Considering the Effects of Segregation and Policy on French and US Primary and Secondary Education

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