The Double Contradiction - Education Gospel and Education Penalty

Abstract

The wishful thinking of education-jobs-development promise has formed within the emergence of the trinity of the knowledge economy, meritocracy and human capital theory embedded in education ideology. The take-for-granted promise is idealized and deceptive, which largely ignores the interplay of other variables. The education arms race, credential inflation, overeducation, the dilemma of liberal arts and humanity subjects, and education penalties for employees, especially student workers, have exposed another side of the seemingly promising trinity. In this sense, the absolute goodness of education has gradually tilted toward relative or positional goodness, suggesting an alienated structure which simultaneously constrains individuals. Focusing on the paradoxes of the trinity specifically, allows people to not only scrutinize the overall picture and interconnection of those educational settings but also how education shapes and reshapes different stakeholders. This essay expounded the traps of the trinity, indicating meritocracy reproduces inequality and its premise on ability-based placement is also flawed. Heavily human-capital-based-idealogy alienates education. People with knowledge do not necessarily gain high-income jobs. The paper suggests a reconnection and review on education purposes for education stakeholders and the construction of a working environment legal protective framework to embrace the increasing student workforce.