“Education is important not only for higher paying jobs and economic productivity, but also for saving lives and saving dollars.”

– Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015

INTRODUCTION

It is often said that education is the foundational pillar of lifelong success. Indeed, a theme familiar to many modern families is the paramount importance parents place on getting their children into a good school or university in the hope that this crucial choice will propel them into lucrative careers.

What is sometimes overlooked in our contemporary society, however, is the wealth of evidence suggesting that education is also an important social determinant of health. The ability to process incoming information effectively and make informed choices about one’s own well-being is influenced, in large part, by one’s depth of exposure to higher-order learning.

In this episode, the PHI team examines the intersectionality between ethno-racial and socio-economic disadvantage, on one hand, and the often glaring educational disparities that exist between different segments of North American society. They argue that establishing equity in education ought to be a key element in our collective push to promote good health for all.

Table of Contents

1. How education disparities translate into health disparities
2. Education as a radicalized phenomenon
3. De-racializing education: the way forward

How educational disparities translate into health disparities

There is plenty of research pointing to the association between lower levels of educational attainment and poorer health outcomes.

Among Americans, life expectancy is the highest for those who have completed university or college, lower for those who have only completed high school, and lower still for those who have dropped out of high school. According to some estimates, the gap in life expectancy between the most and least educated Americans may be as large as 10 to 14 years (Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015).

Rates of infant mortality are also influenced by educational attainment, with mothers who have graduated from post-secondary institutions exhibiting better outcomes compared with those who have not completed high school.

Lower levels of educational attainment are also associated with a higher likelihood of reporting a chronic condition such as diabetes, heart disease, or obesity, with some statistics pointing to a rate of diabetes among those who have not completed high school that is over double that of those who have graduated from university or college (Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015).

The key question, of course, is “why?”. Why are more educated individuals healthier, typically speaking, than the less educated?

One particularly compelling argument is the notion that education provides individuals with the requisite means and opportunities to pursue good health in the form of higher incomes, richer socio-psychological environments, and higher-quality neighbourhoods. Those who are highly educated are more likely to gain lucrative, high-earning employment and, by extension, obtain the financial means to live in stable housing and pursue productive dietary and lifestyle choices. In addition, these individuals are more likely than those on the lower tiers of the socio-economic ladder to perceive a sense of self-control and socio-emotional support, due in large part to their ability to form sophisticated social and professional networks through their intimate exposure to the academic world.

Another theory (Egerter et al., 2011) postulates that the relationship between an individual’s health outcomes and environmental influences such as work and education is actually reciprocal. In the same way that one’s occupational or vocational milieu can influence well-being, existing in a state of poor health or residing in an impoverished neighbourhood can limit one’s ability to obtain a high-quality education or pursue a desirable career.

Education as a racialized phenomenon

It should not come as a surprise, given the macro-historical patterns of non-White subjugation and marginalization central to the evolution of North American society, that the dynamics of racialization have contributed to an educational ecosystem of vast disparities.

Individuals of Latin American, Black, or Native origin are much less likely to graduate from a four-year university or college program in comparison with their White counterparts (Quarshie et al., 2020). They are also disproportionately subject to a system whereby state and government resources tend to be concentrated in highly prestigious institutions that are extremely selective in their admissions processes. As a result, there is a “funneling” of racialized individuals into institutions that are very commonly underfunded and understaffed, with high dropout rates.

These patterns contribute to a vicious cycle of social reproduction through which population subgroups that are both racialized and under-educated will tend to occupy lower tiers of the socio-economic ladder later in life and be constrained in their capacity to provide a high-quality vocational foundation for the next generation.

The effect of this cumulative disadvantage is such that today’s Latin American, Black, and Native individuals will likely find themselves in a situation where the cost and burden of providing their own children with a high-quality education is unacceptably prohibitive. Such a process will only serve to cement the already-glaring disparities that exist between privileged and underprivileged racial groups in North America.

De-racializing education: the way forward

The first step in addressing institutional racism in the academic world is acknowledging that it exists. Faculty makeup in North American universities and colleges tends to be overwhelmingly White, and there are generally fewer tenure opportunities for people of colour. There is also a common preference, within these educational institutions, for students from non-European ethno-racial backgrounds to adopt and use Anglicized names. These and other practices perpetuate a culture of racialization that must be dismantled if progress in ensuring educational equity is to be made.

In the article, “Envisioning Higher Education as Anti-Racist” (2020), Krishni Metivier proposes a series of recommendations that can help academic institutions overcome deeply-embedded habits of racialization. These include:

• Funding mandatory anti-racism workshops for staff and students.
• Educating students about the unique hardships faced by people of colour.
• Offering low-cost education programs in racialized communities.
• Creating dual- or multiple-enrollment programs for secondary and post-secondary programs.
• Eliminating reliance on standardized testing.

It is clear that much work needs to be done in this important area. The prospect of achieving high levels of health and well-being across all segments of our population depends on nothing less than our ability to foster an educational ecosystem that is truly de-racialized and de-hierarchized. 

Written by: Shenbei Fan, BMSc MPH (c)