Seminar for Social Immersion ProjectHonors & Scholars CenterHale Center, Ohio State University – January 24th 2011

Instructor: Jason ReeceSenior Researcher, Opportunity Communities ProgramKirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity, Moritz College of Law33 West 11th Ave, Room 204; E-mail: Reece.35@osu.edu

Access to higher education Unequal access to higher education as a form of

inequity

Understanding the impacts of inequity on our state and society

How do we understand disparate outcomes in education in Ohio? What drives it?

What can we do to improve it?

Multidisciplinary applied research institute Our mission is to expand opportunity for

all, especially for our most marginalized communities

Founded in 2003 by john powell (executive director) Opportunity Communities Program

▪ Opening pathways to opportunity for marginalized communities through investments in people, places and supporting linkages

▪ Disrupting systems of disadvantage

▪ Opportunity mapping, Regional Equity, Neighborhood Revitalization, Opportunity Based Housing

3

About me….

About you…. What’s your background?

What inspired you to participate in this program?

Are there particular questions or topics you would like me to address?

A Form of Inequity in Ohio

What do you think? Why Should we about access to higher education

in Ohio, or in our nation?

Is their “fair” access to higher education in Ohio?

For Ohio 9th graders Less than 3 in 4 will graduate

High School

Less than 2 out of 3 of those graduates will go to college

Only 1 in 2 of those will graduate in 6 years

Resulting in only 1 in 5 earning a bachelors degree

Source: Data and information derived from presentation by Nancy Nestor Baker, available on-line at: http://principalsoffice.osu.edu/files/zone.8.08.knowledge.php

For new jobs in our economy About 7 in 10 new jobs require post secondary education Only 1 in 10 are accessible for those with less than a high school

diploma The recession has made these conditions worse (more

competition)

Systemic barriers to higher education and disparate educational outcomes are a sign of inequity in Ohio What is inequity? ▪ Disparities between groups (systematic group level disparities)

▪ Not having fairness or treating all groups fairly, barriers blocking access to opportunity for some groups

Conversely, providing greater access to higher education is an example of promoting greater equity in the state

Understanding Inequity

Who is impacted? Class Race/Ethnicity Gender Language Place/Geography Disability Sexual Orientation Age Other????

Intersectionality Interaction of various factors on

multiple scales▪ For more information review the writings of

Kimberle Krenshaw

Other potential dimensions to inequity

• Disparate impact of policies• Often institutional and/or

structural in nature• Durable inequality• Cumulative disadvantage • Denial of opportunity• Groups left out of the democratic

process• Limited political voice• Limited agency

Is their inequity in the US? Yes, and it is growing in many ways

How does this manifest? In various ways for various populations Example:

▪ Disparity: gaps in outcomes for whole group population How do we explain this? Personal or cultural characteristics, institutional or

structural causes Culture of poverty, cumulative disadvantage, The

underclass

18

Although racial attitudes are improving steadily, racial disparities persist on every level. Income, poverty, employment, health, crime, incarceration,

education, assets, housing, among others

National Racial Disparities 2003

34.8%

71.5%

10.1%

24.7% 23.9%

46.3%

21.9%16.8%

47.3%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

Poverty Rate College GraduationRate

HomeownershipRate

White African American Hispanic

National Racial Disparities 2003

$88,000

$46,310

$29,772

$6,000

$34,751

$7,900

$-

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$90,000

$100,000

Median HH Income Median HH Net Worth

White African American Hispanic

How do we understand these disparities if they are not explained by personal discrimination or explicit laws and policies? When do disparities matter?

Three sources: Biology: Much less prevalent today, but was a common explanation

during the 19th and early 20th centuries; theories of racial, ethnic, and gender inferiority.

Individuals & Culture: Idea that individuals alone can (and should) rise above their conditions of poverty, and the idea of a defective “culture of poverty”.

Structures & Institutions: States that even within neutral arrangements and without discriminatory actors, disparities can still exist.

21

22

Outcomes

&

Behaviors

Social

Physical

Cultural

These structures interact in ways that produce racialized outcomes for different groups, but also in ways that influence identity and culture

24

Five decades of research indicate that your environment has a profound impact on your access to opportunity and likelihood of success

High poverty areas with poor employment, underperforming schools, distressed housing and public health/safety risks depress life outcomes A system of disadvantage Many manifestations

▪ Urban, rural, suburban

People of color are far more likely to live in opportunity deprived neighborhoods and communities Social determinants of race: Where

you live dictates access to opportunity structures and also determines racial norms

…to a multi-dimensional understanding….

• Structural Inequality– Example: a Bird in a cage.

Examining one bar cannot explain why a bird cannot fly. But multiple bars, arranged in specific ways, reinforce each other and trap the bird.

• One variable can explain why differential outcomes.

26Source: Barbara Reskin. http://faculty.uwashington.edu/reskin/

27

Some people ride the “Up” escalator to reach

opportunity

Others have to run up the “Down” escalator to get there

Direct Education IndicatorsSchool poverty rateAverage teaching experiencePercent reading proficiency - 11th gradePercent writing proficiency - 11th gradePercent math proficiency - 11th gradeGraduation rate 2004-2005Percent of teachers with Bachelor's degreePercent of teachers with Master's degreeTotal hardware/software (computer expenditure)Access to librariesPercent associates degree or higher

Other Neighborhood IndicatorsPercent povertyPercent unemployed

Access to prenatal careTotal crime indicatorPercent of houses owner-occupiedPercent of houses vacantHousing median valueChild poverty rateMedian household income

Educational Opportunity Map for

Ohio: Ohio’s Geography of

Educational Opportunity

SOUTHWEST OHIO SOUTHWEST CENTRAL OHIO

Impacts of Inequity

We are all caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever effects one directly effects all indirectly.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Individual Poor economic outcomes, lower educational outcomes,

degraded asset development

Poor health conditions, higher exposure and risk from crime

Psychological distress, weak social and professional networks Community/Economy High social costs, distressed and stressed communities, fiscal

challenges

Weakened civic engagement and democratic participation

Underdeveloped human capital, poor labor outlook, poor economic development prospects

32

Richard Florida states in Flight of the Creative Class: “Rising inequality is a deadweight drag on our economic competitiveness…The basic

formula is simple: Those companies, regions and countries that reduce waste and effectively harness their productive assets have a huge advantage in the Darwinian competition that powers creative capitalism.”

Rondinelli, Johnson and Kasarda argue that the marginalization found in core urban communities and declining geographic/social mobility threaten to undermine hopes of adjusting economic development to the global economy. “…the expanding underclass that is concentrated in the cores of U.S. cities is ill prepared

educationally and psychologically for productive work and technological change…”

The State’s economic future is dependent on its most plentiful natural resource, human capacity and innovation

Without addressing the various inequities facing the state, our future is compromised

34

Building Greater Equity in Education

Many solutions…but resources and public will to implement them are the primary barriers to resolving

Our Approach Investing in People, Places and Linkages

▪ Bringing opportunity to distressed communities, bridging opportunities to those who are disconnected from our educational resources

▪ Providing holistic support to Ohio’s students and communities▪ Engaging disadvantaged communities and families

What would you do? What is your solution?

Reece.35@osu.edu 33 West 11th Ave, Room 204 A

The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity

On-line at: www.kirwaninstitute.org

www.race-talk.org

37