Conclusion
Efforts to reduce the stratification of educational opportunity are likely to be met by actions that are designed to maintain class distinctions (Oakes, Rogers, Lipton, and Morrell, 2002). Specifically, middle-and upper-income families will likely respond to initiatives that refocus public resources toward individuals from lower-income families by working to secure additional resources that benefit their children and by identifying additional mechanisms that preserve class stratification (Lucas, 1999; Oakes et al., 2002). Moreover, effectively refocusing public policies in ways that reduce inequalities in postsecondary educational opportunity may require a shift in the current dominant political position, a conservative position that emphasizes self-payment of educational costs and awarding of financial aid based on academic criteria rather than financial need, instead of the structural barriers that limit opportunity for certain groups.
Nonetheless, policymakers, educators, researchers, and others who are troubled by the persisting stratification of postsecondary educational opportunity must not be deterred by the political obstacles. Greater progress in equalizing postsecondary opportunity must be made if the United States is to maintain its economic, military, agricultural, and industrial dominance globally and fully realize the range of societal benefits that accrue from higher education. Although eliminating the stratification of postsecondary educational opportunity in the United States will also require attention to the structural barriers that limit persistence to degree attainment, considering the ways in which current public policies may be reconfigured to better ensure college access and choice for all students is essential.
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Thomas, S.L., Perna, L.W. (2004). The Opportunity Agenda: A Reexamination of Postsecondary Reward and Opportunity. In: Smart, J.C. (eds) Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, vol 19. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2456-8_2
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