Integration of Migrants through Education

Abstract

Bibliographic note KULESZA, Izabela A. PATH DEPENDENCE IN AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION . Mater thesis. Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Sociological Studies. Supervisor Prof. PhDr. Arnošt Veselý, Ph.D. Abstract This thesis is concerned with the study of public education in the United States as a path-dependent phenomenon. By reviewing the historical background of the institution of education, several key sequences emerge that are foundational principles. They are: a decentralized system, secular education, universal access, decreasing the achievement gap and global competition. Testing these sequences against school choice theories shows the foundational principles behind traditional public schooling in America are being challenged. The institutional reproduction of this pathway is likely to be interrupted in the utilitarian, functional, power and legitimation explanations of path dependence theory. Keywords public education, school choice, path dependence theory Range of thesis: 66