The Education System of the USA: Equity in US K-12 and Higher Education

Abstract

This chapter examines the tension that exists within the American educational system as it promotes equity in the service of democracy while reinscribing social inequity in the service of capitalism. While issues of equity in education are impacted by issues of race, class, disability, and gender, the primary focus in this chapter will be the basis on which race shapes American curriculum and schools. The chapter will review the social structures within communities and schools that serve to maintain inequality, particularly the Detroit context as a microcosm