Controls and Choices

Carl L. Bankston III is an American sociologist and author. He is best known for his work on immigration to the United States, particularly on the adaptation of Vietnamese-American immigrants, and for his work on ethnicity, social capital, sociology of religion, and the sociology of education. Stephen J. Caldas has published many articles and books on school desegregation. He also publishes in the area of bilingual education. He currently teaches quantitative research methodology and education policy at Manhattanville College in New York.

• ContentsIntroductionBackground: The Evolution of Educational RedistributionFailure of Will or Self-Defeating Policy?Summary of the BookChapter 1 — The Political Economy of Education and Equality of Educational OpportunityWhy Seek Equality of Opportunity in Education?What Makes an Education Valuable?More than MoneyIt’s the ClienteleChapter SummaryChapter 2 — Schooling as a Competitive MarketThe Educational MarketplaceSchool Composition and Educational EnvironmentsWhat Does This Mean for Equality of Opportunity?The School Marketplace in PracticeChapter SummaryChapter 3— Command and Control Failures: Cases of Self-Defeating PoliciesBaton Rouge, LouisianaChicago, IllinoisDallas, TexasBeaumont, TexasPasadena, CaliforniaNew York CityIndianapolis, IndianaDetroit, MichiganBoston, MassachusettsLouisville-Jefferson CountyChapter SummaryChapter 4— Market Options and Illusions of SuccessLittle Rock, ArkansasCharlotte, North CarolinaMilwaukee, WisconsinSt. Louis, MissouriWhat Happened in These Districts?Chapter SummaryChapter 5—The Educational Marketplace and the Rise of the School Choice MovementDesegregation Frustration and the Rise of ChartersMinority Students and VouchersThe Spread of School Choice ReformsThe Special Case of New OrleansSummary of Rationale for Using Charters and Vouchers for RedistributionThe Debate over ChoiceDesegregation, School Choice, and Educational QualityChapter SummaryConclusionReferences

Beginning with the premise that education is a business monopoly supplying clientele for the marketplace, equity in education falls short. Comparing the populations in low socioeconomic schools with those that are advantaged and mostly white clarifies that inequity exists. The former is of less value to consumers. Further, equity in education is not necessary to provide the skills required. It does not mirror marketplace reality. Though redistribution of diverse populations through desegregation was a noble civil rights goal, it sped up segregation. Mandated attempts achieved nothing more than an initial appearance of equity, and mandated redistribution encouraged the advantaged to relocate. Deciding where they could get the best education for their children, such as private, parochial, or magnet schools, middle- and upper-class families moved. This mobility, ‘white flight,’ demographically reestablished the gap that desegregation was intended to address. One chapter provides several in-depth examples of desegregation failures. Another chapter outlines those claiming success, such as in-school desegregation; however, even those suffered from many of the same maladies. In short, after decades of desegregation in the US, desegregation has proved to be ineffective in providing educational equity.Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students; faculty.