Assignment 2: Research Paper Part 1 � The Foundation
If you have ever asked a question, wondered why something is as it is, or tried to understand an event,
you have engaged in research. For this assignment, you will create the first part of your research paper.
You should use the headings below for the sections of your paper.
For this assignment, you will craft the framework of your research using the articles you collected and
summarized from Assignment 1 and / or other articles you found that relate to your research topic.
Assignments 2, 3, and 4 will all build on each other to create one comprehensive research paper. Each
time you submit an assignment, your instructor will provide feedback that you can use moving forward
with the other parts of the research paper.
Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you:
Assignment 2 Research Paper Parts 1 – The Foundation
ASSIGNMENT 2 RESEARCH PAPER PART 1 – THE FOUNDATION
Introduction
The expansion of education in the United States of America remains one of the defining
features of this current time. As a result of the pressures exerted by the impacts of globalization
and the desire of the society in taking part in knowledge acquisition remains one of the
approaches that advance the prosperity of the United States of America. This therefore points out
to the need for the proper management of access to equitable higher education as a tool that
would shape the course of the society (Bragg, & Durham, 2012). Several research approaches
have been developed with the aim of creating an understanding on the inequalities that are
engineered and the approaches that can be employed in ensuring equality access to education is
employed. This desertification aims at developing a research inquiry that will determine the
manner in which equity in educational systems are dispensed in the United States.
Purpose of the Research
In consideration of the fact that several nations have made progress in the enrolment of
larger populations of learners that also include the traditional cohort ages, it is of significance to
determine that this aspect has been noted to exclude some segments of people in the society. As a
result of this factor, there has been an instance of inequality in the manner in which education is
dispensed in different institutions in the United States of America (Bragg, & Durham, 2012).
This therefore points out to the purpose of this research inquiry which seeks to address and
discover how access and equity within the education systems in America can be initiated.
Problem Statement
As mentioned, the increased, enrolments within public educational institutions in the US
fails to take cognizance of all the sectors of the population in an equal way. This clearly depicts
ASSIGNMENT 2 RESEARCH PAPER PART 1 – THE FOUNDATION
the fact that the nation needs to ensure appropriate approaches directed towards encouraging the
unrepresented groups to enroll for learning in different institutions. Different research inquiries
were over the past developed to determine the inequalities in the access to public education in the
United States, with many of these studies pegging their findings on the elements that result in
these inequalities. This clearly points out to the gap between this research inquiry that aims to
determine how access and equity in public education can be dispensed and the significance of
these approaches.
Literature Review
It is essential to determine the fact that Bragg, & Durham (2012) eludes that access and
equity in the manner in which education is dispensed remains the backbone of development in
any nation. The lack of equitable education is both part of the reason why poverty and its
diminution still exist in the society today (pp.107). This therefore requires that a sustained and
appropriate access to an equitable approach to education remains a critical element in the long-
term improvement of the society. In this case, education should be designed in a manner that
offers life-long learning abilities and capabilities to the learners with the primary objective of
preparing the learners for their success after completing their course irrespective of their ages,
genders, physical abilities, economic statuses and learning abilities.
On the other hand, Bragg, & Durham (2012) alleges that Higher Education is one of the
elements that are characterized by hopes for intellectual and civic progress within a nation. For
many people in America, education is considered part of societal problems rather than the
solution to the challenges that faces the society. According to Lubienski (2013), Higher
Education benefits individuals since it allows the learners to participate and accrue the benefits to
ASSIGNMENT 2 RESEARCH PAPER PART 1 – THE FOUNDATION
the society. However, it is essential to mention that different literatures have identifies that there
are a segment of the population within the society that are offered limited opportunities to take
advantage of the socioeconomic benefits that come with education. Salmi, & Bassett (2014)
provides evidences that show there have been limited attempts to develop policies that are
directed towards increasing the access and ensuring equity to education among different
segments of people in the society.
According to Gilbert & Heller (2013), it was determine that the cost of Higher Education
remained barriers to many of the students in achieving their educational needs. This therefore
resulted in the nation depriving itself of potential leaders and socially competent individuals by
allowing the element of access to be based in the economic status. This therefore required the
government of the United States of America to play a significant role in Higher Education by
providing financial assistances geared towards aiding learners to access education.
Additionally, there was also the need for the government to ensure that Higher Education
was equally availed to all learners irrespective of their race, sex, creed and national origin. This
is in consideration to the fact that access was also hampered by the element of racism (Gilbert, &
Heller, 2014). It is therefore essential to determine that there is a gap in these literatures
considering the fact that they provide the manner in which access and equity have both been
viewed in different institutions. However the literatures do not depict the approaches that may be
employed in ensuring that access and equity are incorporated within the education systems of
America.
Research Questions
- How can public education be expanded to meet all the segments of the society?
ASSIGNMENT 2 RESEARCH PAPER PART 1 – THE FOUNDATION
- What are the substantial elements that need to be incorporated to ensure that this
expansion captures all the under-represented segments of the society?
Proposed Theory for the Research
This study is therefore based in determining the element of access and equity within the
US public education in different institutions of learning. The research therefore involves a
qualitative method that is directed towards obtaining the research data. This discipline with
therefore take an investigation aimed at gathering in-depth understanding as to how public
education can be expanded to meet each and every segment of the population in the society. This
will therefore seeks to answer the how in the initiation of these approaches in education. Data is
therefore collected within three different institutions of learning; Spring Hill College, Stillman
College, and Talladega College, all in the state of Alabama in the United States of America.
Additionally, the research paper will also determine the phenomenon of the elements that
need to be incorporated in ensuring that these expansions capture the under-represented groups
in the society. This will be done through observations in the numerical reorientations that are
provided and a through statistical analysis into determining this element (Warren, 2014). Besides
this, there will be a questionnaire that will be provided to the authorities in the three educational
institutions mentioned to give a statistical representation of the findings in this inquiry.
Interviews with this respondents and a few expert personnel’s in this field may also be
considered.
Conclusion
As determined in the study, the expansion of education in the United States of America
remains one of the defining features of this current time. As a result of the pressures exerted by
ASSIGNMENT 2 RESEARCH PAPER PART 1 – THE FOUNDATION
the impacts of globalization and the desire of the society in taking part in knowledge acquisition
remains one of the approaches that advance the prosperity of the United States of America
(Warren, 2014). This therefore requires the development of appropriate interventions that are
geared towards ensuring that equity and access to Higher Education are incorporated within
educational institutions.
ASSIGNMENT 2 RESEARCH PAPER PART 1 – THE FOUNDATION
References
Bragg, D. D., & Durham, B. (2012). Perspectives on Access and Equity in the Era of
(Community) College Completion. Community College Review, 40(2), 106-125.
Gilbert, C. K., & Heller, D. E. (2013). Access, Equity, and Community Colleges: The Truman
Commission and Federal Higher Education Policy from 1947 to 2011. Journal of Higher
Education, 84(3), 417-443.
Gilbert, C. K., & Heller, D. E. (2014). Access, Equity, and Community Colleges: The Truman
Commission and Federal Higher Education Policy from 1947 to 2011. Journal of Higher
Education, 84(3), 417-443.
