IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/edt/jsserr/v11y2024i1p7-16.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Deciphering The Complexities And Uncertainties In Public Schools In The United States

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin DAMOAH

    (School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences, Department of Geography and Geology, The University of Southern Mississippi, United States)

  • Samuel OWUSU

    (School of Education, The University of Southern Mississippi, United States)

  • Clement YEBOAH

    (School of Education, The University of Southern Mississippi, United States)

  • Andrews ACQUAH

    (School of Education, The University of Southern Mississippi, United States)

  • Daniel PAINTSIL

    (School of Education, The University of Southern Mississippi, United States)

Abstract

This literature review paper sheds light on the systemic deficiencies, complexities, and untold stories in the public school system in the United States. It reveals that despite being an advanced democracy and a first-world country, the US education system still faces issues that hinder its developmental trajectory. Surprisingly, the uncertainties unmasked in the US education system are not far-fetched from the experiences that persist in developing countries. The paper is thought-provoking and raises important questions about the state of education in the modern world. As a result, relevant literature was thematically reviewed on systemic disparities that hinder the growth and development of education. The findings of the paper among others discussed issues that include the quantification of educational outcomes, systemic inequality, and segregation, school funding, differential access to infrastructure resources, as well as teachers' competencies and retention. Addressing the complexities and uncertainties of public education requires a multi-faceted approach involving policymakers, educators, parents, and communities to ensure equity and efficacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin DAMOAH & Samuel OWUSU & Clement YEBOAH & Andrews ACQUAH & Daniel PAINTSIL, 2024. "Deciphering The Complexities And Uncertainties In Public Schools In The United States," Social Sciences and Education Research Review, Department of Communication, Journalism and Education Sciences, University of Craiova, vol. 11(1), pages 7-16, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:edt:jsserr:v:11:y:2024:i:1:p:7-16
    DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15258125
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sserr-11-1-7-16.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.5281/zenodo.15258125?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Julien Lafortune & Jesse Rothstein & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2018. "School Finance Reform and the Distribution of Student Achievement," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 1-26, April.
    2. Eric A. Hanushek, 2019. "Testing, Accountability, and the American Economy," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 683(1), pages 110-128, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Juan Pablo Atal & José Ignacio Cuesta & Felipe González & Cristóbal Otero, 2024. "The Economics of the Public Option: Evidence from Local Pharmaceutical Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(3), pages 615-644, March.
    2. Falch, Ranveig, 2021. "How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners?," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 5/2021, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    3. Simona Ferraro & Tommaso Agasisti & Francesco Porcelli & Mara Soncin, 2021. "Local governments’ efficiency and educational results: empirical evidence from Italian primary schools," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(35), pages 4017-4039, July.
    4. María Orduz, 2022. "Effect of educational spending on academic performance under different institutional arrangements," Documentos CEDE 20224, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    5. Xie, Xiaoxia & Huang, Chien-Chung & Chen, Yafan & Hao, Feng, 2019. "Intelligent robots and rural children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 283-290.
    6. Cécile Bonneau, 2020. "The Concentration of investment in education in the US (1970-2018)," Working Papers halshs-02875965, HAL.
    7. Cordis, Adriana S. & Muzatko, Steven, 2021. "Higher education spending and CPA exam performance," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    8. Manon Garrouste & Miren Lafourcade, 2022. "Place-Based Policies: Opportunity for Deprived Schools or Zone-and-Shame Effect?," Post-Print hal-04329793, HAL.
    9. Olivier De Groote, 2025. "Dynamic Effort Choice in High School: Costs and Benefits of an Academic Track," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(2), pages 467-502.
    10. Hanushek, Eric A. & Peterson, Paul E. & Talpey, Laura M. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2019. "The Unwavering SES Achievement Gap: Trends in U.S. Student Performance," Working Paper Series rwp19-012, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    11. Geschwind, Stephan & Roesel, Felix, 2022. "Taxation under direct democracy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 536-554.
    12. Eric Brunner & Joshua Hyman & Andrew Ju, 2020. "School Finance Reforms, Teachers' Unions, and the Allocation of School Resources," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(3), pages 473-489, July.
    13. Anderson, Michael L. & Gallagher, Justin & Ramirez Ritchie, Elizabeth, 2018. "School meal quality and academic performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 81-93.
    14. Katharine L. Bradbury, 2020. "The Roles of State Aid and Local Conditions in Elementary School Test-Score Gaps," Working Papers 21-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    15. Russ Kashian & Nicholas Lovett & Yuhan Xue, 2020. "Has the affordable care act affected health care efficiency?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 193-233, December.
    16. Erdal Asker & Eric J. Brunner & Stephen L. Ross, 2022. "The Impact of School Spending on Civic Engagement: Evidence from School Finance Reforms," Working papers 2022-16, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    17. Ethan J. Schmick & Allison Shertzer, 2019. "The Impact of Early Investments in Urban School Systems in the United States," NBER Working Papers 25663, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Josh B. McGee, 2023. "Yes, money matters, but the details can make all the difference," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(4), pages 1125-1132, September.
    19. Sun, Liyang & Abraham, Sarah, 2021. "Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 175-199.
    20. Biasi, Barbara & Lafortune, Julien & Schönholzer, David, 2024. "What Works and For Whom? Effectiveness and Efficiency of School Capital Investments Across The U.S," CEPR Discussion Papers 18745, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Public School; Inequality; School funding; Systemic Disparities; United States; USA;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:edt:jsserr:v:11:y:2024:i:1:p:7-16. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dan Valeriu Voinea (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://cis01.central.ucv.ro/litere/cadr_juridic/departament_comunicare_jurnalism_stiinte_ale_educatiei/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.