Explain How Societal Issues Have Influenced The History Of Higher Education

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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Identify how “societal issues” have influenced the History of Higher Education in the last 50-70 years.
I think for me the biggest societal issue, and I don't go far back as the question, is the realization (finally?)by powers that be in our society, that school achievement is based primarily on what neighborhood you grow up in. I have been doing this for 30 years, I was a high school teacher in the late 80's and have been here at WCC since the early 90's. In fact, neighborhoods, schools, and funding, and inequities there and the fact I think the economic inequities in our culture are almost directly tied to the educational inequalities in our culture.
That has been the biggest thing that has influenced education in the way, I think, liberal minded people look at education is that what's going on is, Our schools aren't funded equally or fairly because of the way our neighborhoods are structured in this culture, neighborhoods don't get …show more content…

The G.I Bill after world war II, led to community colleges becoming viable institutions, they followed shortly thereafter a great number of people. What the G.I. Bill did is to allow people, all kinds of people, middle-class people, and lower-class people to actually say, maybe I can get a college degree. It was one of the best things this country has done for our veterans. Because middle-class people started flocking to higher education. Suddenly higher education became not about just preparing a gentlemen as it was in those days, not too many women, for a life of service or politics or philanthropy because rich people went to school. Now, suddenly schools are acquainted with getting a job because middle-class have to work. So the equation that a college degree will get me a job so somehow that forged linkage was made, and of course that has changed the whole idea of higher