Questions tagged [education]

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

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Is anyone advocating the promotion of homosexuality in UK schools?

There appears to be a line of argument used by a vocal minority that children should not be educated about homosexuality (and, I suppose, non-binary gender identities) because the proposals are to "...
52d6c6af's user avatar
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49 votes
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How do Palestinian schools teach about the Holocaust?

How do schools in Palestine (at least those controlled by the Palestinian government) teach about the events of the Holocaust? What do their official textbooks say on the subject? Mirror question: How ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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Why do some European countries provide free higher education to foreigners?

Germany, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Slovenia, Austria, Slovak republic, and so on. Why do they allow non-EU/EEA students to have free tuitions? What is their benefit as a country?
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47 votes
12 answers
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Why does having a college degree make a difference to how white Americans vote?

Four years after the 2016 election, it hasn't changed that the majority of non-college-degree white people support Trump's re-election, while the majority of college-degree white people don't. Why ...
Tim's user avatar
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Why are US student loans nearly impossible to remove via bankruptcy?

In the United States it is very hard to get rid of student loans. They cannot be discharged in bankruptcy except for under extenuating circumstances. I find that bizarre given how people are ...
Number File's user avatar
39 votes
4 answers
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What is Critical Race Theory (in the context of the recent flood of news articles that mention it)?

In recent years, I have observed a rapid increase in news articles* about courses in US schools and US enterprises that are allegedly "based on" Critical Race Theory, and these articles ...
Peter's user avatar
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Why are UK Prime Ministers educated at Oxford, not Cambridge?

Undoubtedly, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have both played a major role in educating Britain's elites in politics, business, entertainment etc. However, when it comes to Prime Ministers, ...
mikado's user avatar
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36 votes
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Why did Democrats oppose Ted Cruz's provision to allow funds from 529 plans to be used for homeschooling?

Senator Ted Cruz proposed an amendment to the recent tax reform bill to allow funds from 529 plans to be used for homeschooling1, but the Democrats voted against it and it did not make it into the ...
Null's user avatar
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7 answers
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Why are there "bad school districts" and "good school districts" in the US, assuming that the government works hard to increase education standards?

In many areas of the US people choose the place to live based on the quality of local schools. In districts where schools are geographically segregated, many parents even resolve to various scams in ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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26 votes
6 answers
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Why are many college towns so Democratic?

I have been looking at college towns. I took a picture of their average precinct in the 2020 presidential election. University of Michigan average precinct: These college towns are recording ...
Number File's user avatar
26 votes
12 answers
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How would one justify public funding for non-STEM (or unprofitable) college majors to a non college educated taxpayer?

I'm curious what kind of arguments one could give to justify to someone without a college education that they would have to pay for someone else's education that they themselves never received. With ...
user2741831's user avatar
26 votes
4 answers
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Why does the UK government write off student loan debt after 30 years?

In the UK, if you haven't paid back student loans within 30 years they are written off. Why would the government institute such a policy? As far as I can see, it results in most people not paying back ...
Thomas Richardson's user avatar
24 votes
5 answers
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Why does the United States have some of the best universities and tertiary education in the world yet only ranks average in K-12 education?

By universities, I would also include colleges of course. The claims about tertiary education and schools are generally well known, and backed by various rankings. In regards to K-12 education, there ...
Holiday_Chemistry's user avatar
24 votes
9 answers
6k views

Why fund research in pure mathematics?

I post this question on politics.se, as suggested by this answer of Bjørn Kjos-Hanssen. The research in pure mathematics has (generally) no other choice that being funded by public organizations ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
22 votes
2 answers
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How does Israel teach the displacement of the Arab population in 1948 (Nakba)?

How do Israeli educational institutions go about teaching the Nakba? According to Wikipedia it can be summarized as following: The Nakba ("catastrophe", or "cataclysm"'), also ...
Mozibur Ullah's user avatar
21 votes
5 answers
5k views

Does the Secretary of Education have to support public education?

Many have expressed distress at the confirmation of many of President Donald Trump's cabinet picks because of their disdain of the Agencies they have been charged with running. The best example is ...
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Why is President Trump ending affirmative action in college admissions so controversial?

It was recently announced that: The Trump administration is expected to tell schools not to consider race in the admissions process, discontinuing the policy former President Barack Obama adopted ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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Which country has the most cabinet ministers with PhDs?

I would be happy to know which country has the maximum number of ministers with PhD degrees. I ask this question because I was reading about the new ministers appointed by the Modi government. Looks ...
Gary 2's user avatar
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Is democracy failing nowadays? [closed]

Democracy, in the shortest form is defined as "Government by the people". In the first sight it looks very nice, as if "people together" will judge and assess, which government is good and ultimately ...
Vishwas's user avatar
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19 votes
6 answers
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Why are countries consistently ranked across "nice" lists?

I have noticed over the last couple of years, that countries that are ranked high on one list that ranks by a property that is favorable, also rank high on other similar lists. For example on https://...
Make42's user avatar
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18 votes
3 answers
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Is the "leftist" tendency in academia restricted to humanities?

This answer to a question about "leftist" academia led me to wonder if the observed tendency towards more progressive and liberal views in more educated people is a product of a chance drift ...
Paul Johnson's user avatar
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Are Democratic members of congress more educated?

I have read some people on this site talking about how whether or not white Americans have a college degree can change their voting habits. I was thinking about this topic regardless of race in ...
Light's user avatar
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2 answers
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How was the US able to create a Department of Education at the Federal level?

Looking through Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution (that part of the document that enumerates the powers of the Congress), there is nothing that talks about Congress' role in education. ...
Affable Geek's user avatar
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17 votes
3 answers
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In the U.S., are people with more education more likely to vote liberal?

In the U.S., are people with more education more likely to vote liberal and progressive, or is this merely a perception? If yes, is this true in general, or only for certain disciplines? Are there any ...
gerrit's user avatar
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15 votes
7 answers
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Why did the leftists usually win in the media front and education system?

I recently read that less than 3% of Ivy League professors (from Harvard and Yale) are conservative; the vast majority are liberal or very liberal. Also, most influential media are left-leaning. There ...
High GPA's user avatar
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5 answers
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Why is there a strong link between education and voting Remain?

The more highly educated you are, the more you are likely to have voted for remain rather than leave, in the EU referrendum. Why is this the case? From YouGov: 70% of voters whose educational ...
Paul's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
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What is the political orientation of those banning "To Kill A Mockingbird" and similar literature?

"To Kill A Mockingbird" has recently been removed from a reading list in a Mississippi school district. (example article) On Twitter, I've come across US conservatives blaming US liberals and vice ...
Andrew Grimm's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
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What is the rational behind the UK government offering help paying childcare for 2-year-olds only to non-working parents?

Source: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds?step-by-step-nav=f237ec8e-e82c-4ffa-8fba-2a88a739783b It seems that you can claim childcare benefits from the UK ...
Evolving_Richie's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
682 views

Is restricting the teaching of critical thinking in schools associated with any political parties?

The Washingon Post noted that the 2012 Party of Texas platform supported: Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical ...
user1873's user avatar
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What is the position of women in current (early 2022) Afghan society?

As of 2022, the Taliban managed to take over Afghanistan approximately half a year ago. I would like to know more about the current situation over there. To be precise, I've read that women under the ...
aca's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
281 views

Are there any jurisdictions in the US that require public school students to learn Spanish?

As the amount of Spanish-speaking Americans is increasing, do some towns, counties, or states mandate all public school students to learn at least some Spanish?
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8 votes
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Why does the city of San Francisco have to sue its school board to get schools reopened?

According to the SF Chronicle: The fight over reopening San Francisco’s public schools will take a dramatic, heated turn on Wednesday as the city becomes the first in the state — and possibly the ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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8 votes
4 answers
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Where does North Korea find scientists to develop its missiles?

Where does North Korea find scientists to develop its missiles in order to continue the development of their scientific research? Do they have any education background or they hire foreign scientists?...
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8 votes
3 answers
2k views

Why does the media workforce lean liberal or democrat

There is some evidence that the mainstream news media workforce leans liberal, or at least towards democratic party candidates. There are many examples. One from the 2008 general election: The ...
discodane's user avatar
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8 votes
2 answers
639 views

Why was the "value-added model" algorithm kept secret?

This TED presentation says that the New York Department of Education is using a secret algorithm to evaluate teachers: (..) teachers were being scored with a complex, secret algorithm called the "...
Alexei's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
1k views

Correlation between county-level college education level and swing towards Democrats from 2016-2020?

On the Census.gov website, there is a feature to see how much of a population has a bachelor's degree or higher in education. I want to see the county-level correlation between how much of the ...
Michael Mormon's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
349 views

Are there countries without a hard limit on the number of spots at medical schools?

According to an answer on a related question: In 1910, the physician oligopoly was started during the Republican administration of William Taft after the American Medical Association lobbied the ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
847 views

Why don't Harvard and other universities supporting affirmative action simply stop receiving Federal Funds?

As outlined in Why did CJ Roberts apply the Fourteenth Amendment to Harvard, a private school?, the affirmative action only applies to schools that receive federal funding. But the federal funds seem ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
646 views

Is Germany making a net profit or net loss from providing free university education to internationals?

Many people pride Germany in having free education. However, there is a fine print in it. You have to take care of the living costs, usually smallish fees from the university (much lower than, say, in ...
tryst with freedom's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
12k views

Does standard of living correlate with higher education? [closed]

This question aims at the correlation between a societies standard of living and standard of formal education. For example, over the past century, America has had the fortune of being a place with a ...
Greg McNulty's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
495 views

What are the specifications of Texas's new motto law?

Texas has a new law requiring public schools to display "In God We Trust" posters if donated. What are the specifications of an item that would be required for mandatory display? I've seen ...
Arcanist Lupus's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
699 views

How does Islamic single-sex education, ruled unlawful, differ from other single-sex education in the UK?

BBC News reports that Islamic single-sex education has been ruled unlawful. Yet there are more than 400 single-sex schools in the UK. Why is the Islamic one unlawful when hundreds of single-sex ...
gerrit's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
328 views

Why are education and poverty strongly correlated in South Africa?

As you can read in this statistics paper, in South Africa, the share of individuals attending school and the share of low-income women-led households is strongly correlated. Why?
gianni404's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why are many US school boards elected?

I think it is odd that school boards are elected in many if not most school districts in the United States. This makes me wonder what the political and historical reasons for electing school boards. ...
Number File's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
287 views

How can Obama's free community college plan budget only $60B for 10 years?

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/free_community_college_take_a_math_class_mulshine.html Paul Mulshine's article attacks Obama's claim that only $60B will cover ten years whereas ...
Script Kitty's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
300 views

Why were strict truancy laws introduced in the UK

A little while ago I noticed a post on my facebook feed somebody getting a fine for missing a day of school because of a holiday, then I came across articles such as this one in the mirror giving ...
user1605665's user avatar
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5 votes
0 answers
116 views

Private (Fee Paying) schools in Finland

This article from 2021 fact checks the statement that Finland abolished it's private education sector over a period of 10 years from the 1970s. Until the early 1970s in Finland, most secondary ...
Jontia's user avatar
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5 votes
0 answers
242 views

What countries explicitly ban (in publicly funded education) the teaching that people are responsible for the acts of their ancestors?

A new bill proposed in Idaho Idaho lawmakers have advanced a bill that would prohibit public schools, including public universities, from teaching that "any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color,...
Fizz's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
3k views

Can the supreme court decision to abolish affirmative action be reversed at any time?

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf The Court has come to rest on the bottom-line conclusion that racial diversity in higher education is only worth po- tentially preserving ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
3k views

Are African-Americans under-represented in the teaching profession?

I was doing some research on gaslighting, when I came across the following in the Gaslighting article on Wikipedia: Gaslighting can be seen as institutional and systematic. An article by Tuesda ...
Mozibur Ullah's user avatar