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which unit is obligated to provide schooling facilities for a particular child. Differences in size of grants would make one area more attractive than another just as differences in the quality of schooling now have the same effect. The only additional complication is a possibly greater opportunity for abuse because of the greater freedom to decide where to educate children. Supposed difficulty of administration is a standard defense of the status quo against any proposed change; in this particular case, it is an even weaker defense than usual because existing arrangements must master not only the major problems raised by the proposed arrangements but also the additional problems raised by the administration of schools as a governmental function. |
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Schooling at College and University Level |
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The preceding discussion is concerned mostly with primary and secondary schooling. For higher schooling, the case for nationalization on grounds either of neighborhood effects or of technical monopoly is even weaker. For the lowest levels of schooling, there is considerable agreement, approximating unanimity, on the appropriate content of an educational program for citizens of a democracythe three R's cover most of the ground. At successively higher levels, there is less and less agreement. Surely, well below the level of the American college, there is insufficient agreement to justify imposing the views of a majority, much less a plurality, on all. The lack of agreement may, indeed, extend so far as to cast doubts on the appropriateness even of subsidizing schooling at this level; it surely goes far enough to undermine any case for nationalization on the grounds of providing a common core of values. There can hardly be any question of "technical monopoly" at this level, in view of the distances that individuals can and do go to attend institutions of higher learning. |
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Governmental institutions play a smaller role in the United States in higher schooling than at primary and secondary levels. Yet they grew greatly in importance, certainly until the 1920's, and now account for more than half of the students |
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