The Original “Ends” and “Means” of Public Higher
Education
Generally speaking, a “means to an end” denotes the actions
taken (the means) for the singular purpose
of achieving something else (an end).
More specifically, when public higher education in America was created in the 1830s, a consensus already existed among the people as to what the purpose—or end—of public higher education would be:
The End: To provide opportunities for many more citizens to acquire the necessary higher education to qualify as teachers in the newly created “common” schools, now known as the K-12 “public” schools.
Private religiously-based schools predated the creation of the public schools in America, just as private religiously-based universities located in cities, predated the creation of the public universities that would later be located in the more rural parts of the States where increasing numbers of their citizens lived.
Since mandatory public schools would eventually be built to serve all students in every State, many of whom lived in the rural areas at a time when transportation occurred primarily by horse, it became critical for public universities to be located near those rural communities where their students lived.
There was also a consensus as to what the primary tool—or means—would be to achieve the above end:
The Means: To subsidize the actual cost of public higher education using State taxpayer funds so that a majority of qualified students could afford to pursue and achieve a public higher education.
The subsidies needed to provide access to less affluent students would come from the tax revenues to be collected from all citizens, even those who might never send a son or daughter to college.
This consensus was based on a widely-held conviction at the time—“public higher education” was a “public good” that should be supported by all taxpayers. The idea associated with that conviction was that every citizen would benefit from public higher education, some directly and all others indirectly.
In the early days of public higher education the demographics of America featured a large majority of voting households with at least one person age 18 or younger living there, that is someone who could benefit directly from public higher education. In a democratic republic like America based largely on majority rule, the elected representatives initially voted to provide free, or almost free, public higher education, since a large majority of every elected official’s constituents would have been in favor of it.
By way of example, Baruch College in New York began in 1847 as the “Free Academy,” the very first free public institution of higher education in the nation.¹
“Demography is destiny”
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
But times and demographics change.
In the nearly two centuries since public higher education began in America, the original end of public higher education—preparing teachers for the public schools—as well as the original means of providing it—high levels of State subsidy—have both witnessed changes totally undreamed of in the 1830s.
How the End of Public Higher Education has Changed
Though it still includes the teacher-preparation curriculum, the end of public higher education has evolved and expanded steadily since the 1960s to include other curricula in the arts, sciences and a number of professional areas at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
This curricular evolution and expansion of public higher
education was both correlated with, and surely caused by, an evolving American public
opinion in favor of a greatly expanded role for a college education.
It is not an exaggeration to say that in recent decades, a
college degree in America has come to be seen as a “Ticket to the American
Dream,” a dream no longer limited to that of becoming a teacher—but one that
included an artist, scientist, poet, nurse,
engineer, psychologist, business owner or great entrepreneur.
How the “Means”
of Public Higher Education have Changed
As American demographics changed over many decades, American public opinion also changed— especially in regard to the critical question of who should rightfully pay for “public higher education.”
As long as it was seen as a “public good,” it naturally followed that “public” (i.e., taxpayer) funds should be used to help pay for public higher education.
But as American society evolved over time since the
1830s, it also aged, demographically speaking.
“The average American today lives in a household of three and a half people, compared to seven in 1850.” This quote dates from a 2007 research study conducted by Todd Schoellman and Michèle Tertilt at Clemson University and Stanford University.²
By 1950, a slim majority of households in America still had at least one person age 18 or younger living there. But by the 2000 census, that percentage had fallen to 34%; by 2010 it had fallen further to 30%.
Fully 70% of the voting households in America today cannot benefit directly from public higher education, and they almost certainly don’t want their taxes raised to send someone else’s son or daughter to college.
Further evidence for America’s steadily evolving
demographics may be seen in the following U.S. Census figures: In 1940 just 1 adult in 20 (5%) had completed
four years of college; but by the year 2000, 1 adult in 4 (25%) had attained a
bachelor’s degree.³
Many of the challenges and public debates today about
college affordability and student loan debt arise from the enormous changes in
the ends and means of public higher education in the last two centuries.
Understanding the extent and impact of those changes is a necessary first step in finding solutions.
To be continued.
² https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=MWM2008&paper_id=57.
³ https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/censusatlas/pdf/10_Education.pdf.
No comments:
Post a Comment