The problem, and the reason for the focus, is that the sociological and the philosophical are highly correlated in education. The philosophical questions - and bringing them through from concept to practice to evaluating are hard.
You got to the edge of the cave and wanted to look around...it took you a while to notice the torches but you navigated by touch. Most people don't. They are trained out of it.
It is especially hard on the 'smart' kids (I deal with them...they are a mess). So often they are asking questions beyond what their teachers in K-12 know and can answer and it creates a void. Depending on how its handled by everyone in their adult community it can either be 'stop asking questions just get the answers right [the answers I got from the teachers texbook]' which just amplifies extrinsic motivation as the dominant mode of action and validation or it can be 'I don't know and thats amazing lets find out'.
When my partner and I started planning for kids, we talked about schools. She was surprised that I was at all pro private school, and even more surprised that I placed greater value on private school earlier rather than later in K-12. The fundamental thing is that the minds, thoughts, and ideas of those with socioeconomic privilege in this country are treated with far more respect. The educational environs that give that respect happen to be the ones that are more likely to promote deep learning, metacognition, argumentation, etc.