Introduction
Issues of equality in learning cut across the entire social divide. They involve concerns on how factors like poverty, social status, gender, individual liberty, democracy, ethnicity and race contribute to inequality in education. Diversity exists because people share some common attributes and differences that make them a unique group. People belong to different cultures, languages, and religions. Learners, teachers and other professionals involved in the provision of education need to be aware on how these factors affect inclusive learning. When there is diversity among learners and those facilitating the learning process, people are able to learn about themselves and the value of appreciating cross cultural differences among them. Inclusive learning is one way to encourage diversity. This paper briefs on the various issues on equality in learning and then provides some strategies than can used in order to promote inclusive learning and equality.
Perspectives on equality and inclusive education
Roemer (1) explains that there two views of equality of opportunity today. The first one call on the nondiscrimination principle, this principle states that in the competition for positions in the society, individuals should be judged by attributes that are related to performance whereas personal attributes like race or sex should not be important considerations. The second view supports and encourages the society to ensure a level playing ground for all people so that everyone can benefit from the existing opportunities. Therefore those inequalities exist in education because the society has not been able to apply these principles in a manner that makes learning environments accommodative to learners who share different cross cultural heritage. Roemer (1)
Inclusive education has many facets, generally it is meant to provide all learners with equitable opportunities to enable them receive effective educational services. This also includes learners who have various disabilities. Inclusive learning in part involves providing the necessary teaching and learning aids together with offering support services that are helpful in preparing the learners to be full productive members of the society. Daniels and Garner (2).The major goal of inclusive learning is to value the diversity of the human community and also ensure that there is equity in the provision of education to all groups of people, such that not a single will be underrepresented in any way.
Inequality concerns in education
Inequality in education has had one major impact which is limiting access to and attainment of the same educational standard by a particular group of people because of the social status and class.
Educational inequalities between people from different social classes have been both a political and social concern for a long time. For example there was great focus on educational inequalities in Great Britain before the start of the Second World War. This continued to 1960s and 1970s.It was observed that these inequalities were between the sexes and also between the majority and minority racial groups. Foster, Gomm, and Hammersly (3)
In the United States, great differences exist in the ability of different states to finance educational programs adequately. It has also been established that educational opportunities and attainment continue to differ by social class, states, regions, and between urban and rural communities as well. Newton (4). When governments are unable to provide enough finances for educational projects fairly through out the country, then there will be various inequalities which will be noted within the education system.
Another important factor that contributes to inequality in education is poverty and the level of income which varies greatly within families. It is known that well off families are able to afford what is perceived by the many to be quality education for their children compared to poor families which have to send their children to low cost public schools. Poverty extends to include exclusion of advantages in housing and health as well.
The physical condition of the learners also continues to feature prominently on the equality debate. These physical factors relate to the learner’s ability to hear, see, or other forms of physical disability that some people constantly perceive to limit the learners’ ability to learn in a normal learning environment.
Proponents of inclusive education argue that it’s possible to integrate learners with various forms of physical disabilities in normal learning institutions as it is an important way to reduce stigmatization and segregation of disabled learners. They also continue to base their argument on lack of strong evidence that could support the widely held notion that specific categories of students learn differently. Those opposing inclusive education strongly advocate for the creation of special learning facilities for people with various disabilities.
Gender and patriarchy are also known to have a great influence in perpetuating the existence of educational inequality. This can be best seen in many African countries where education of the male children is held with high importance than that of the female children. Owing to this, women for a long time have had poor access to educational opportunities. Gender equity in Africa has been an area of focus by civil rights organizations and non governmental organizations for last two decades. Nafziger (5) notes that since colonial days in African states, education has been an important vehicle for upward social mobility.
He explains that the educated were able to occupy administrative positions in the government bureaucracies of the time and this enabled them to use education to transmit class status to their children. This group consisted of mainly men, the reproduction of the class system through education therefore led to a situation where men had higher educational attainment compared to women.
Democracy and racism are linked to equality in terms of human rights and societal development. Many immigrant groups were segregated and denied educational opportunities until the abolition of Jim Crow rules which led to equal opportunities for both the dominant white population and the minorities’. Countries undergoing civil wars and other forms of internal conflicts have poor records of good governance.under such circumstances, the ruling class has often violated the rights of the ordinary people. This consequently leads to the widespread inequalities that are seen when such countries are compared to those which have peace and democratic leadership.
Strategies to avoid inequality and promote equality and diversity
A commitment to addressing the challenge of ensuring equal opportunity as well as non discrimination is important in ensuring that inclusive education becomes a practical reality. Towards this end, it would involve actions that are based on proper needs identification. These needs for example could be those of learners with some disability, those of learners who do not speak the dominant teaching language or learners who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and who often encounter difficulties in their learning.
An excellent example for this is offering scholarships to international students and work-study programs for needy students which would enable them to meet their living costs especially in higher learning institutions. This is one way of encouraging equality and diversity. Needs assessment also relates to building the competence of new teachers who have little exposure to multicultural learning environments. This would for example involve encouraging such teachers to bilingual bearing in mind the context of the situation.
Planning for multicultural classrooms should take note of the staffing needs to ensure that the teaching and support staff are sensitive to the cultural diversity in the school. This is important in making every learner to feel that they belong together. The staff should interact more with learners who appear withdrawn and hardly noticeable in the school. Designing of the school curriculum should take into consideration the concerns of minority groups and ensure that their issues are addressed within the taught curriculum. A common mistake made by tutors in multicultural classrooms is ignoring, disapproving or showing open sarcasm to the customs of and traditions of learners with whom they have little ties in terms of cultural heritage. Gill, Mayor, and Blair (6).
Facilitating cultural exchange initiatives among the learners can also play an important role in integrating the diverse groups of learners into a cohesive unit.
Educational planners should facilitate and evaluate the professional development of staffs in multicultural learning centers. Planners should also evaluate educational policies both at the national and local level levels to ensure that discriminative policies are not enforced. This would is important in sustaining gains made should old staff members move out.Assessing whether there are conflicting issues among members of the school is important as it is possible to address them before they escalate to heightened levels. Performance evaluation among staff and earners as well should be based on the ability and not on individual attributes like color, race and ethnicity.
Conclusion
Inequalities in education disadvantage groups of people from access and attainment of education similar to others due to social status. The answer to educational inequalities lies in upholding the principle of nondiscrimination and ensuring a level playing field in order for all people to enjoy equitable opportunities.
Reference
- Roemer, J E. Equality of opportunity. U.S.A. Harvard university press; 1998.
- Daniels H, Garner P. Inclusive education: supporting inclusion in education systems. London.Routledge; 2000.
- Foster, P, Gomm, R, Hammersley, M. Constructing educational inequality: An assessment of research on school
- Newton, E. Problems of equality of opportunity in education.Jstor: review of educational research, vol.16, No.1 (1946) pp 46-49.Cited 2010.
- Nafziger, E W. Inequality in Africa: political elites, proletariat, peasants, and the poor. Cambridge.CUP Archive; 1988.
- Gill, D, Mayor, M.B, Blair, M. Racism and education: structures and strategies. London. Sage Publications;2002.