Promoting Educational Equity

The educational equity is the important contents of the social equity. It is the extension of the social equity in the realm of education and is also an important way to achieve the social equity. Higher education can provide the opportunity of fair competition and help to improve the underprivileged groups living condition. It can also reduce social injustice and realize social justice, thus it is believed to be the "greatest tool". The pursuit of higher education equity is an effective means of achieving social justice. Higher education equity is essentially a state action. Therefore, the government and the society are sure to become the main pushers of equity of education. After World War II, through legislation on education, the U.S. federal government participated in the student financial assistance. By the aid of the federal higher education funding, more impoverished students have accesses to higher education, which largely promote the educational equity. In recent years, with the popularization of higher education in China, the population of the poverty-stricken college students in education is becoming larger and larger, which gradually increase the number of funding problems. How to improve our educational funding policy in line with our national conditions so as to promote educational equity, is becoming a confronting problem during the process of development of higher education. From the perspective of historical development, this paper firstly analyzes the U.S. federal government's funding policies on higher student in various historical periods, and then, it sums up the advanced experience and successful practices, so as to provide some constructive suggestions for our higher education research in educational equity.Introduction of this paper mainly states the reasons of selecting this subject ,the domestic and American research summary situation,the research methods . It also gives us clear definitions of main concepts.There are five chapters in this thesis. The first chapter mainly discusses the education financing policies in the 1940s and the 1950s.. During this period, the United States promulgated the'The GI Bill of Rights'and the "National Defense Education Act". By doing this, it participated in the financing process. Educational grants policy had been shaped gradually. These two bills have achieved good results, which in large promoted educational equity. However, the financing policies in this period didn't take the development of'human'as the starting point. To be contrary, it based on national interests. So equity during this period is called'the state-supreme fairness'.Chapter II mainly discusses the education financing policies in the 1960s and the 1970s. In the 1960s, President Kennedy Johnson lead the U.S. into the'Great Society'by promoting social welfare. Education financing no doubt belongs to part of it. On November 8th in 1965, the U.S. government promulgated the first act on higher education in American history, which is called "Higher Education Act". In 1978, the U.S. Congress passed the "middle-income Students Financial Assistance Act". This act makes the middle class become the object of financial assistance, Educational grants policy were expansive development .So this period is known as'welfare-generalization fairness'.Chapter III mainly discusses the education financing policies in the 1980s until the Clinton administration. In 1981, Ronald Reagan has been sworn in as president. During that period, the United States experienced serious budget deficit. President Reagan, as a representative of the new Conservative Party disapproved national welfare and appealed for reducing funding on higher education. Despite of great pressure from various aspects, the amount of financing is not decreased, however, the government's financing policy on education is negative in that period. President George Bush basically followed President Reagan's ideas. Educational grants policy continued to be restrained. Therefore, this paper depicts this period as"temperate fairness".Chapter IV mainly discusses the education financing policies in the Clinton administration .After Bill Clinton was elected president, he chose a new governing notion, that is, the third line. Reflected in the field of higher education, this policy emphasized responsibility and also assistance, it taken the interests of the middle class and the low-income groups into account. During this period, the educational grants policy caused the middle class to become the biggest beneficiary, and the result is gradually far away from the initial legislation objective, consequently, the fair was called as"entrained from fair".Chapter V summarizes various historical periods of the education financing policies to promote educational equity. Although there are many problems during the education financing process, the government has not changed the original intention of financial assistance for educational equity and each session has been making great effort to improve it. Through the study of American higher education financing policies, we should be more aware of the role of government, the government should be the leading force in promoting educational equity.