K-12 Schools Versus Colleges: Should Schools Follow College Governance Model?

K-12 schools and colleges each have their own merits. In the same way K-12 schools and colleges differ in their difficulties. A question is posed, however, if K-12 schools should in fact follow the governance model applied to colleges.

Education Week cites proponents of the issue in reasoning that colleges have the better model. Compared to K-12 schools, colleges are driven by market signals. This goes hand in hand with the fact that colleges have less government-regulated policies in comparison to K-12 schools. This nature of governance supposedly gives colleges the edge over K-12 schools on the matter of results generated.

Every student deserves a school that believes in them and widens their horizons. #WhatSchoolCanBe pic.twitter.com/twcmjVBTOY

— US Dept of Education (@usedgov) April 24, 2016

The education cite, however, points out that creating a cause-and-effect relationship between higher education results and smaller government intervention may be flawed logic. These two factors are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

It certainly does not present a hard case of being an advantage over K-12 schools. The media outlet also points out that role-wise, K-12 schools and colleges need very different support from the government. An example given is the role of instilling values versus the role of encouraging knowledge through research and further learning.

The former belongs to the K-12 schools while the latter belongs to colleges. Education Week qualifies that no hard or fast rule can be used to define a black and white difference between these learning institutions.

Let's make #FreeCommunityCollege a reality for every student willing to work for it → https://t.co/6gGrkbsdgw pic.twitter.com/764f1DQj0u — The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 25, 2016

Forbes quotes former US president John F. Kennedy as a reminder of what education should be about. "Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities," former President John F. Kennedy once said. "Because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation."

As two integral parts of the education system, this the aim toward which K-12 schools and colleges should both work. The difference in their governance notwithstanding, K-12 schools and colleges should maintain a focus on this single ultimate goal.