Why we need to stop wasting public funds on education
Despite being immensely popular--and immensely lucrative--education is grossly overrated. In this explosive book, Bryan Caplan argues that the primary function of education is not to enhance students' skill but to certify their intelligence, work ethic, and conformity--in other words, to signal the qualities of a good employee. Learn why students hunt for easy As and casually forget most of what they learn after the final exam, why decades of growing access to education have not resulted in better jobs for the average worker but instead in runaway credential inflation, how employers reward workers for costly schooling they rarely if ever use, and why cutting education spending is the best remedy. Caplan draws on the latest social science to show how the labor market values grades over knowledge, and why the more education your rivals have, the more you need to impress employers. He explains why graduation is our society's top conformity signal, and why even the most useless degrees can certify employability. He advocates two major policy responses. The first is educational austerity. Government needs to sharply cut education funding to curb this wasteful rat race. The second is more vocational education, because practical skills are more socially valuable than teaching students how to outshine their peers. Romantic notions about education being "good for the soul" must yield to careful research and common sense--The Case against Education points the way.Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money
Hardback
Publication Date: 09/04/2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691174655
- 9780691174655
- Category:
- Colleges of higher education
- Format:
- Hardback
- Publication Date:
- 09-04-2018
- Language:
- English
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- Country of origin:
- United States
- Dimensions (mm):
- 242x165x34mm
- Weight:
- 0.71kg
Click 'Notify Me' to get an email alert when this item becomes available
Great!
Click on Save to My Library / Lists
Click on Save to My Library / Lists
Select the List you'd like to categorise as, or add your own
Here you can mark if you have read this book, reading it or want to read
Awesome! You added your first item into your Library
Great! The fun begins.
Click on My Library / My Lists and I will take you there
Click on My Library / My Lists and I will take you there
You can find this item in:
Funding of education & student finance
Colleges of higher education
Higher & further education
Industrial or vocational training
Central government policies
Economics
Educational strategies & policy
Philosophy & theory of education
Education
Labour economics
History of education
Universities
Show more
Show less
Reviews
Be the first to review The Case Against Education.
Share This Book: