Diversity & Equity TodayDefining and Meeting the Challenge

Heather Broderick

Will Carter

Paula Listrani

Robin Sullivan

Introduction:

• Inequity and Inequality– Equity-“fair”

– Equality-“equal”

• American society has historically struggled with the questions of equity and equality

Liberal Ideology: Meritocracy Reexamined

• New Debate• Origins of inequality• “GI Bill”• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)• Michael Harrington’s 1962 bestseller,

The Other America• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and

urban riots that followed his murder

The Coleman Report

• Survey by James Coleman – “concerning lack of availability of equal

educational opportunity for individuals by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin.”

• Initiated new debate on equity

• Summary of findings

• Flaws in Coleman Report

• The Cultural Deprivation studies

The Political-Economic Context

• Demographics of modern American society

• Race, ethnicity, and the limits of language

• Ethnicity, income, wealth

• Ethnicity and employment• Ethnicity and family• Statistics

Gender

• Gender and employment– “Glass-ceiling”

– Increase role of women as professionals.

• Gender and income– Do women make the same income as

men in the same profession?

• Gender and living situation– Implications for working mothers

– Family Medical Leave Act (1993)

Socioeconomic Class

• Class and income– Designating class by

income bracket

• Class and power– Thomas Dye’s research

findings

– “Power-elite”

Education: Ethnicity, Gender, and Class

• How does membership in ethnic, economic, social class, gender, and handicapping conditions influence how individuals learn and the equality of education?

Education: Ethnicity, Gender, and Class

• Race, ethnicity, and education

• Socioeconomic class and education

• Equity, education, and handicapping conditions

• Gender and education & societal definitions of gender

Race, Ethnicity, and Education

Are there fundamental differencesin the way African-Americans,

white, Indian, Latino, or Asian children experience

the institution of schooling?

Race, Ethnicity, and Education

• Statistical information among racial and ethnic groups

• Language barriers: Asians & Hispanics

• Desegregation: Was it successful?

Race, Ethnicity, and Education

• Progress in formal education

• Today, most if not all educators believe that high-school graduation rate of 86% is no longer satisfactory 0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

1900 1940 1991

HighSchoolcollege

Race, Ethnicity, and Education

• Subdivision among racial groups

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

Whites AfricanAmer.

Other

High School College

Socioeconomic Class and Education

• Are there fundamental differences between the experiences of the rich and poor?

Socioeconomic Class and Education

• Thomas Toch

Discussion Topic:

Do you think that the school districts in the

suburbs and the city is modern day segregation?

Consider: Teacher’s attitudes Parents attitudes School facilities & resources

Equity, Education, and Handicapping Conditions

• Do Schools provide equitable treatment to students who are judged to have physical disabilities, psychological disabilities or handicapping conditions?

Equity, Education, and Handicapping Conditions

• Labeled individuals• Education for All Handicapped

Children Act ( EHA)• Implications

Discussion Topic: What is the problem with

identifying students with a handicap condition?

Gender and Education & Societal Definitions of Gender

Are there fundamental differences between the

experiences of male and female?

Gender and Education & Societal Definitions of Gender

• Gender stereotypes

• Gender vs. Sex

• Social expectations & gender roles begin at birth

• Sex roles in early education

• Gender bias in secondary schools

Gender and Education & Societal Definitions of Gender

• Women’s Educational Equity Act (1972)

• Implications- Advances in gender equality- Gender equality today

Does Social Inequality Necessarily Determine Educational Outcomes?

• Individuals succeed or fail due to their native abilities and applied efforts, but also on the basis of their membership in one or more ethnic, gender, or economic groups.

Jane Elliot's Experiment

• Taught students what prejudice and discrimination were

• Blue-eyed vs. brown and green-eyed children

• Students realized how a feeling of inferiority can be destructive and how it can destroy motivation

Theories of Social Inequality

• Genetic Inferiority Theory

• Cultural Deficit Theory

• Critical Theory

• Cultural Difference Theory

• Cultural Subordination Theory

• Resistance Theory

Bilingual and ESL Instruction as Bridges to English Proficiency

• LEP students have sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language

• The U.S. Dept. of Ed. Identifiedover 2.1 million public school students in the U.S. as LEP

• Of all schools with LEP students, 76% provide programs in ESL, while 36% offer bilingual education programs

BEV Language and Cultural Subordination

• A child who says, "They be mine" is speaking a dialect known as Black English Vernacular (BEV)

• There is a mismatch between African-American culture and the dominant Anglo culture of America

• The language one speaks is not biologically determined, but a function of one's cultural background

Pedagogical Approaches to Pluralism

• Ignore differences

• Eliminate differences

• Sensitivity to differences– Uses cultural resources as a bridge

Examining Gender Theoryas an Illustration ofSensitivity to Difference

• 1st phase – “gender-free” approach

• 2nd phase– equalizing gender differences

• 3rd phase– looking for ways to overcome

differences, and differences arerecognized and respected

Examples of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy(Grant & Ladson-Billings)

• A culturally relevant educator’sconception of themselves and others

• Conceptions of social relations

• Conceptions of knowledge

•All students are capable of academic success

•Pedagogy as an art

•See themselves as members of the community

•Teaching as a way to give back to the community

•Freirean notion of “teaching as mining” or pulling knowledge out, not putting it in

•Fluid student-teacher relationships

•Demonstrate connectedness with all students

•Develop a community of learners

•Encourage students to learn collaboratively and be responsible for each other

•Knowledge is not static_it is shared, recycled, and reconstructed

•Knowledge must be viewed critically

•Be passionate about knowledge learning

•Assessment must be multifaceted, incorporating multiple forms of excellence

Assimilationist & Pluralistic Approaches to Achieving a Pluralistic Education (Sleeter & Grant)

• Teaching the exceptional & culturally different

• Human relations

• Single-group studies

• Multicultural education

• Multicultural and social reconstructionist education

What can be done?(Sleeter & Grant)

• Reflect and celebrate diversity

• Curriculum should regularly include contributions of diverse groups

• Curriculum equally accessible to all groups

• Build on students’ learning styles

• Use cooperative learning

What can be done?(Sleeter & Grant)

• Develop positive self-concept in all students

• Evaluation should be used for improving instruction not sorting

• Develop home/community relations

• Extracurricular activities should not perpetuate race and sex stereotypes

Teachers who have been successful with high-poverty children were found to: (Knapp)

• Maintain classroom order

• Respond effectively to diverse cultural backgrounds

• Teach for meaning

Diversity, Equity, and Special Education

• Ongoing debate since 1960

• Labeling raises equity issues• The Education for All

Handicapped Students Act (1975)

• Labels say more about the system than about students

Political EconomySocial inequalities

Diversity across and within groups

Inequalities in employment and pay

Effects of poverty and racism on families

Income vs. wealth differences

Ed. For All Handicapped Children Act

Language and dialect difference

SchoolingAchievement testing

Advanced placement testsSAT & ACT examsAntiracist education

Culturally responsive pedagogyBilingual education

ESL instructionMulticultural educationInclusion of all children

IdeologyEqual opportunity for all

Meritocracy

Genetic deficit theory

Cultural deficit theory

Racism/Sexism

Disability bias

Social construction of which human differences matter

Analytic Framework

Conclusion

• Teachers must devise an environment that will support students with very different skill levels and interests

Links to Internet Resources:Recognizing and Celebrating Diversity

• Equity resources on the web

• Diversity lesson plans

• Multicultural lesson plans

• Inclusion: how to teach everyone

• Students with special needs

• Gender equity in education

• Gender equity resources: girls in science, math, engineering and technology

That’s All Folks!