Federal Role In Education-The Sputnik-Spurred Education Reform In The 1960s

Although it is well established that education is a state and local responsibility in the United States, almost from the beginning of the nation, the federal government has been neither indifferent nor unresponsive to educational needs and developments. The federal government has been making numerous efforts to provide for a system of public education, establish a better foundation of support, encourage the extension of schooling to the neglected populations, and stimulate programs that have helped build the human resources needed in the national interests. All this has added up to the development of the whole society.The thesis will, first of all, explore the history of the federal government's role in education during the 18th and 19th centuries when the government was cautious in lending assistance to the states or local schools for education, and then proceed to examine the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 in which the federal government provided support for specific federal purposes. Then, the thesis moves on to study the latter period when the government increased reliance on categorical grants to states and localities during the 1960s and 1970s. Finally, the thesis argues that since the 1980s, the federal government began to consider what could be done at the national level to improve education quality for all students in the country.Generally speaking, the federal government entered the field of education when a vital national interest was not being met by states or localities, or when national leadership was required to address a national problem. There are four major reasons which can answer the question why the federal government became involved in education: to promote democracy; to ensure equal access to education; to enhance national productivity and to strengthen national defense.The thesis argues that the success of American education is the result of effective organization, in particular the important role played by the federal government, however limited it may be. With federal assistance, a university system, designed to provide for professional development in a wide range of fields, has been created. Vocational education has been established at most levels. Special programs for the handicapped and disabled have emerged. New curricula in the sciences have been implemented. Adult and continuing education has become generally available throughout the nation.However, given the nature of federalism in institutional arrangement, particularly the enormous emphasis upon decentralization in education management by the liberals and conservatives throughout the US history, the federal government is unlikely to have full control over education. Rather, in all probability, it will keep a reasonably well-balanced power-sharing structure between the three big players in the administration of education in the US, namely local, state and federal governments.