Education in appalachia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Education in appalachia - Research Paper Example Appalachia’s economic traditions were formed by coal: the ordinary laborer is employed to an occupation s/he believed would be for a lifetime and is prepared and educated on the job (Fisher, 1993). Unfortunately, these occupations do no longer exist. Hence, the Appalachian people are being mandated to acquire their education prior to entering the workforce. People are being obliged to complete some form of education if they plan to get a job in the future (Powell, 2008). But economic progress is also being hampered by the dominant condition of education in the rural communities of Appalachia. Course Outcomes Outcome One: Demographic and Socioeconomic Status As the disparity in rates of poverty between the country and Appalachia was closing over the recent decades, the Appalachian people were coping with other parts of the country in relation to numbers of high school graduates (Ziliak, 2007). According to Ziliak (2007, 1), completion rates in high school grew by 50% between 19 79 and 1999 (see Appendix A) in Appalachian Kentucky, and current studies show that these developments resulted in the remarkable progress in per capita individual income of Kentucky over the recent decades. ... aduates in Appalachian Pennsylvania may somewhat explain the lower rate of poverty in Appalachia, the more depressed numbers of college graduates there perhaps somewhat clarifies the reason Appalachia’s average level of income is lower relative to the country (Powell, 2008). Even though the figures mentioned here is entirely exploratory, it indicates that continuous disparities in levels of educational achievement imply continuous disparities in levels of income (Ziliak, 2007), and hence rates of poverty. Outcome Two: Factors Influencing Education in Appalachia Earlier studies have demonstrated that the effects of the community in the condition of education in Appalachia are usually more subtle than the influences of the family. This appears to be the case for educational achievement in Appalachia: parents’ educational attainment and family poverty affected behaviors of achievement later on, as the community ceased to do so (Powell, 2008). Still, even though different i n terms of degree of influence on educational attainment in Appalachia, the family and community remain to be the two strongest systems impacting Appalachian education. Education is in fact greatly valued in Appalachia; however, local allegiance and family are usually prioritized. If the family requires help from its young adult, education could be hastily stopped for the sake of family obligations (Edwards, Asbury & Cox, 2006). If a specific job or profession may only be performed away from the immediate community, the family could thwart its realization. Outcome Three: The Interaction between the Family, Community, and Education Attainment of educational goals necessitates significant amount of social support, determination, and resources, and these should be given on a continuous and reliable way