Equitable educational opportunities can help to promote long-lasting, inclusive economic growth and social cohesion. Successful education and skills policies can empower individuals to reach their full potential and enjoy the fruits of their labour, regardless of their circumstances at birth. However, as this report shows, far too many children, students and adults from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds fall behind. In many countries, substantial learning gaps exist between students at opposite ends of the socio-economic scale, and these differences tend to increase in the transition into adulthood. All countries have ample room for improvement to ensure better learning outcomes for all. Early childhood education has been identified as an important element in future success, and requires investment, as do family and community-based support and programmes for children from families that have not attained a high level of education and skills. In the schools, targeted support is necessary for low performers from disadvantaged backgrounds and for poorly performing schools. As for the adult population, learning should be focused on improving employability, through a combination of education and practical job training. Barriers to participation in learning need to be removed, and delivery methods need to be more innovative and flexible. Targeted support is needed for the most vulnerable members of society.
Never has a book on social justice and equitable education been so relevant. Recent events have highlighted the huge attainment gaps that exist for many pupils within the education system because of factors outside of their control. As the diversity of the pupil population increases, it is more important than ever to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding within the teaching profession around issues of equality and inclusion. This book provides trainees and teachers with an in-depth understanding of the complex issues related to the attainment of key groups of disadvantaged pupils, and practical strategies that can be deployed to address these gaps. Chapters focus on social class, gender, English as an additional language, minority ethnic achievement, gypsy, Roma and travellers, refugee and asylum seekers, and those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Higher education institutions continue to address an increasinglycomplex set of issues regarding equity, diversity and inclusion. Many institutions face increasing pressure to find innovative solutions to eliminate access, participation, and achievement barriers as well as practices that impederetention and graduation rates in higher education. This book provides educators with a global understanding of the challenges associated with the growing diversity of student identities in higher education and provides evidence-based strategies for addressing the challenges associated with implementing equity and inclusion at different higher education institutions around the world.
In Intersectionality of Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in Teaching and Teacher Education, the editors bring together scholarship that employs an intersectionality approach to conditions that affect public school children, teachers, and teacher educators. Chapter authors use intersectionality to examine group identities not only for their differences and experiences of oppression, but also for differences within groups that contribute to conflicts among groups. This collection moves beyond single-dimension conceptions that undermines legal thinking, disciplinary knowledge, and social justice. Intersectionality in this collection helps complicate static notions of race, ethnicity, class, and gender in education. Hence, this book stands as an addition to research on educational equity in relation to institutional systems of power and privilege.
Educators worldwide are striving to connect their students to classrooms and experts in ways that humanize the world, while preparing students to thrive in the 21st century. This practical guide takes readers through the steps and strategies needed to set up an equitable and global learning alliance that benefits all learners, founded in the tenets of global citizenship and cultural competence. Understand the equity pitfalls of global partnerships and explore cross-cultural management strategies for building equitable relationships with other communities in the world. Learn about assessing intercultural competence and partnership programs, as well as ways to expand global learning opportunities across your community.
Despite consistent improvements in the school systems of over recent years, there are still too many children who miss out. It is not only children from disadvantaged backgrounds attending hard-pressed urban schools that the system is failing - even in the most successful schools there are often groups of learners whose experience of schooling is less than equitable. As a result of their close involvement with a group of schools serving a predominantly working-class community over five years, the authors of this book offer an analysis of how marginalisation within schools can arise, and provide suggestions for responding to this crucial policy agenda. They propose a teacher-led inquiry strategy that has proved to be effective in moving forward thinking and practice within individual schools. However, their research has shown that using the same strategy for system change is problematic within a policy context that emphasises competition and choice. Learning from this experience, the authors analyse the factors that inhibit the collaborative approach needed to reduce inequities that exist between the schools, in order to formulate proposals that can move the system as a whole towards more equitable provision.