October 24th and 25th at  Alfred Lerner Hall, Columbia University

The Political Costs of Unequal Education

Presenter:

• Jane Junn
  

Summary:

Education plays a dual role in driving democratic citizenship, at once enabling individuals to be active and engaged citizens, while simultaneously replicating structural hierarchies that reinforce inequality.

People with higher levels of educational attainment are more civically and politically engaged.

• In 2004, college graduates were nearly three times more likely to vote then Americans without a high school degree, replicating a longstanding pattern of political participation directly proportional to educational attainment.
• 39% of those with less than a 9 th grade education voted in 2004 vs. 56% of those with a high school degree/ GED, 78% of those with a bachelor''''s and 84% of those with advanced degrees

Whites are more civically and politically engaged than other ethnic/racial groups.

• 68% of whites voted in 2004 versus 65% of blacks and 51% of Latinos
• 14% of whites contributed to a political campaign vs. 5% of blacks and 8% of Latinos
• 16% of whites contacted a government official in 2004 vs. 9% of blacks and 9% of Latinos
• 24% of whites signed a petition vs. 17% of blacks and 20% of Latinos

Whites are more likely to achieve higher levels of educational attainment.

• 25% of Latinos have less than a ninth grade education, vs. 3 percent of whites
• 14% of blacks and 16% of Latinos have less than high school education vs. 7% of whites
• 20% of whites hold a bachelors degree vs. 12% of blacks and 9% of Latinos
• 11% of whites hold an advanced degree vs. 5% of blacks and 3% of Latinos

People who earn more participate more politically.

• 86% of those who make $75,000 or more vote vs. 52% of those who make under $15,000
• 50% of those making $75,000 or more have contacted a government official vs. 25% of those making $15,000 or less
• 73% of those making $75,000 or more are affiliated with a political organization vs. 29% of those making $15,000 or less

“These data demonstrate a clear pattern of advantage in economy and politics for those who achieve higher educational attainment… However it is clear that education buys neither the same amount of political voice, nor an equal sum of dollars in exchange for labor in the United States for minority Americans as it does for whites.”

“To fruitfully address the problems of democracy, we must train the focus of our policy recommendations not only on the education community at large, but on the structures and institutions of government itself….. Education can make democracy possible, but it must also be the case that democracy enables education to find its transformative potential.”