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Equality of Educational Opportunity in Initial TeacherEducationMary Bousted a , Ian Davies a & Judith Ramsden aa University of YorkPublished online: 02 Aug 2006.

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Educational Review, Vol. 46, No. 2, 1994 179

Equality of Educational Opportunity inInitial Teacher Education

MARY BOUSTED, IAN DAVIES & JUDITH RAMSDEN, University of York

ABSTRACT The issues that are now informing policy making in initial teachereducation no longer seem to give the prominence to equality of opportunity that wasformerly the case. In light of this development a small scale research project wasundertaken, gathering data from course providers (in a University Department ofEducational Studies and partner schools) and students. The perceived meaning of theterm 'equality of educational opportunity' was investigated, together with thepolicies and practices in initial teacher education which were suggested as beinglikely to lead to positive achievements. No simple ways forward are suggested, buta number of potential action points are explored throughout the article.

Introduction

There has been a strong recent trend for issues associated with equality of educa-tional opportunity in initial teacher education to be neglected by policy makers. Thishas not always been the case. Until recently the central decision making bodies haveaccepted the importance of equal opportunities work. In 1984 the Department ofEducation in its first major bid for control of the education system in general, andof initial teacher education in particular, issued circular 3/84, part of which declared:

Students should be prepared through their subject method work andeducational studies to teach the full range of pupils whom they are likelyto encounter in an ordinary school, with their diversity of ability, behav-iour, social background and ethnic and cultural origins. They will need tolearn how to respond flexibly to such diversity and to guard againstpreconceptions based on the race or sex of pupils". (DES, 1984, Annexcriteria for the approval of courses, para. 11).

In 1985 the Swann report included very positive encouragement that considerationshould be given to pluralist issues within the central and compulsory core of allinitial teacher training courses (Swann, 1985). The DES circular of 1989 (DES,1989), which tightened regulations in what some felt was an unhelpful way,nevertheless still included a section which insisted that:

courses should prepare students for teaching the full range of pupils and forthe diversity of ability, behaviour, social background and ethnic andcultural origins they are likely to encounter among pupils in ordinaryschools ... Students should learn to guard against preconceptions based on

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the race, gender, religion or other attributes of pupils and understand theneed to promote equal opportunities, (p. 10)

More recent guidance from the Department for Education, however, is far morehesitant. It is true that some valuable points are still made in official documents.Circular 9/92 (DFE, 1992) outlines certain areas for beginning teachers which maybe relevant to the issue, e.g. special educational needs, gifted pupils and "anawareness of individual differences including social, psychological, developmentaland cultural differences" are noted. DFE circular 13/93 (DFE, 1993a) also assertsthat:

The employment of disabled teachers can make an important contributionto the overall school curriculum, in terms of raising the aspirations ofdisabled pupils and educating non disabled people about the reality ofhaving a disability, (p. 4)

Finally, the 1993 Blue Paper (DFE 1993b) recommends that:

The profession must be open to the best candidates from whatever back-ground and courses must be developed to give them genuine access to thenecessary training, (p. 1)

However, the way in which the most recent guidance has been worded, and thecontext in which it has appeared, has led one commentator to suggest that in factthere has been an omission of any reference to equal opportunities (Siraj-Blatchford,1993, p. 91).

It is important to examine why this radical shift has occurred. Four considerationsmay be significant. Firstly, the whole concept of equal opportunities seems to beviewed as being incoherent: "it is too vague and ambiguous to be of much help forpolicy making" (Shaw, 1983, p. 26). Opponents argue that the function of school isto promote competence or allow individuals to develop their own distinctive naturesand as such:

equality meant, not the absence of violent contrast of income and con-dition, but equal opportunities of becoming unequal. (Tawney, 1952,p. 105)

The contrast between those who would favour equality of outcome as opposed toequality of opportunity, and the difficult ways in which those topics can be discussedallows some (for whatever ultimate purpose) to argue that, ultimately, the conceptlacks meaning.

Secondly, this current lack of concern with equal opportunities could be related insome way to the perceived failure of previous initiatives. By 1991 HMI could referto the rather limited efforts to "fully address the ... specific needs of inner cityschools" (HMI, 1991). Extremely alarming information about the proportion andnumbers of working class students who enter higher education (Halsey, 1992), theexperience of women (LaFrance, 1991), the prejudice and discrimination whichaffects ethnic minorities (Singh, 1993) both in this country and overseas (e.g. Grant& Secoda, 1990; Verma, 1993) leads some to argue either that any approach to equalopportunities will fail, or that the particular approach (if one approach can bedetermined) that has been used during the last decade has not worked. Of course, thisargument signally fails to comprehend the size of the problem, the lack of real

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attention that has been devoted to the issue, and the situation that may have occurredif no or other forms of action had been undertaken.

Thirdly, the New Right, is attempting to establish, however incoherently (Davies,1993), a new vision of society in which elitism can flourish. A new concern withconsumerism, the decline of the welfare state, the need to cope with demographicfactors that make welfare provision more expensive at the same time as the powerof local authorities had declined, and the worsening of law and order problems(Davies 1994) are all factors which has led the new right to play the elitist card (e.g.Pilkington, 1991) in the name of breaking the grip on society by professionals who,supposedly, occupy positions of authority and deny access to others. For Clarke(1992) "outdated educational ideology" and the professionals who held to the"orthodoxies of the past" were responsible for discouraging potential students fromapplying to initial teacher education courses. The Spectator (1993, p. 5) in aforthright attack on institutions that offer initial teacher education felt that studentswould only be allowed "to waste a year undergoing a period of Marxist indoctrina-tion". Although these insults are not, of course, based on any evidence, and despitethe many rebuttals of such false claims (e.g. Gilroy, 1992), the political force that ispowering the move away from a concern with equal opportunities is undiminished.

Fourthly, and finally, it should perhaps be noted that the development of ap-proaches by those committed to the further support of equal opportunities policieshas not always been handled with political skill. It would not, of course, be realisticto object to the intellectual splintering which has occurred, as such developments arealmost inevitable. But there are perhaps two ways in which a more sophisticatedpolitical performance might have been expected. Firstly, for those who take differentstances within the equal opportunities debate a measure of sympathy and commonapproach might have been expected. This has not always been the case. Theinfighting for example that has at times characterised the divisions between thosewho favour a multiculturalist as opposed to an antiracist stance has perhaps been tooharsh. Secondly, (and perhaps in contradiction to the first point in this paragraph)recent developments which have tended to propose substantive rather than pro-cedural initiatives have tended to lead to a situation in which ideas becomeassociated almost wholly with particular political parties, local authorities or pressuregroups, and, as a result, are easily dismantled once an electoral swing occurs. TheRight now is dominant in many areas of political life (Bloom, 1987; Fukuyama,1992) while the Left argues with itself (Hughes, 1993).

Methodology

In the light of the above, and in an attempt to clarify a.possible way forward in onecontext, a small scale study was undertaken which focussed on data gathered fromschool staff, University staff and Post Graduate Certificate in Education students.The study emerged as a result of ongoing discussions between like minded individ-uals within a University Department of Educational Studies. Noticing the worseningclimate in regard to equality of educational opportunity in terms of national policystatements, and keen to make new partnership arrangements work in the mostmeaningful way, a tutor from each of Science, English and Social Studies collabo-rated to draw up an open questionnaire in which three key issues were raised:

(1) What does equality of educational opportunity mean to you?

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(2) What policies should govern those institutions (universities, schools, colleges)that offer initial teacher education to ensure that issues related to equality ofeducational opportunity are being addressed?

(3) What would you want to see as part of a course to enable beginning teachersto tackle important issues associated with equality of educational opportunity?

Data were gathered from students, teachers and tutors of Mathematics, Science,English and Social Studies. Small numbers of respondents were involved (twentyfour in all: eighteen students, three UDE tutors, and three teachers) who had beenasked to contribute because of their known interest or expertise in either initialteacher education in general, or in matters associated with equality of educationalopportunity. Typical students who were involved in this spread across what might bebroadly termed as the arts and sciences were those who had already near the start ofthe PGCE course expressed their interest or experience of equality issues; teacherswere those who were mentors in the areas which were highlighted and who in mostcases had worked in their schools on relevant issues. A rough gender balance wasestablished in those who were asked to respond. Data were analysed by tutors firstindividually focussing on answers to two of the three questions; then discussing inpairs the most important strands that had emerged; and finally as a full group of threetutors who were able to decide the overall structure of the paper that was to bewritten.

The Meaning of Equality of Educational Opportunity

Four key issues will be examined: the notion of equality as expressed in terms ofaccess or outcomes; the perceived causes of inequality and the benefits of reform; theprocess of necessary reform; and suggested contexts for action.

Most respondents felt that equality of educational opportunity related principallyto questions of access. A typical response was:

That all people, irrespective of social or other grouping, have equal accessto education at all levels.

Some explained clearly that this was different, although related to, a concern withequality of outcome:

Equality of educational opportunity means (to me) that all pupils, irrespec-tive of gender, class or ethnic background should have an equalopportunity to a certain standard of education. This is not necessarilycompatible with equality of attainment or even equality of use. What isimportant is that the basic opportunity is available.

The selection of school subjects which are studied was felt to be particularlyimportant:

It is not good enough to allow boys to do needlework and girls to dowoodwork. They must be positively encouraged to do so and a climatecreated where there is an expectation that people will study subjects thathave previously been seen as not studies by certain races/genders etc.

The causes of inequality were commented on by a number of respondents. For asmall minority an explanation was given in relation to individuals with one asking

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"should resources be wasted on those who do not want to learn?" But mostrespondents explicitly saw the causes of inequality being societal rather thanindividualistic, and felt that benefits would accrue to all if ameliorative action couldbe taken. Tutors and teachers were generally far more concerned to make pointsrelated to societal rather than individual matters. One said that "a clear realisationthat societal as well as individual factors are important" and another commented thatit is necessary to recognise that:

inequalities in society will, inevitably, be replicated within an educationsystem unless clear policies and activities are devised to address issues ofinequality.

This stance, though, led many to recognise the enormity of the problems not only inattracting sufficient resources, but also in deploying them effectively and fairly in apluralistic society in which differences are valued and yet hierarchies are not alwaysseen to be of benefit. This dilemma is illustrated by the following:

equal educational opportunity is an ideal which is unlikely ever to beachieved. In using our limited resources, we must make priorities andchoices which will effectively draw a line between those to whom we wish(or are able) to extend opportunity and those we do not. An example of thismay be, 'can we timetable our course around those who wish to prayseveral times a day?'; 'can we afford to make our resources accessible tothose in wheelchairs?'. In this instance our choice will be based onfinancial, practical and political grounds. My personal belief is that religionshould not be considered as a valid reason for special provision.

The processes of reform that are perceived as necessary was also commented on byrespondents in answer to the first question on the open questionnaire. Although asmall number of respondents suggested explicitly or implicitly that "everyone shouldbe treated the same", most felt that some sort of redistributive action was necessary.This was explained most often in general terms, for example:

Irrespective of sex, colour, wealth, background and disability, all peopleshould have the same chance to learn and pursue their interests. In manycases this will mean extra effort and encouragement on the part ofschools/colleges to combat discrimination. In other situations more moneywill need to be provided to enable poorer students to continue with theireducation or to provide additional resources for children with disabilities.

Some differentiated even more precisely, suggesting that if equality of educationalopportunity is to be achieved it would be necessary to consider carefully theindividuals within particular groups to assess the nature and amount of assistancethat would be appropriate. The general commitment to positive discrimination wasstrong and particularly so within the Social Studies group of students.

Finally, the contexts which were seen as being particularly important were thoseassociated with race and gender. Some respondents mentioned those with disabilitiesand some did refer to social class. There were also many who used catch-all phrasessuch as 'equality for all' to cover all groups. But it is striking how little attentionseems to be paid to social class as compared with the almost exclusive focus on thisarea that would have been adopted in the recent past (Cordingley, 1993). The debatebetween those who favour focussing on what might be termed specific interest

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groups and those who would support a more general approach to a consideration ofpower and how it is deployed is clearly continuing. As it does so care needs to betaken that certain currently less 'popular' groups are not allowed to slip from publicconsideration.

Thus the students teachers and tutors who responded to the questionnaire feel thatequality of educational opportunity, although not entirely separate from issuesassociated with outcomes, is more fundamentally concerned with access. Societalconsiderations are important as well as those to do with individuals. Positivediscrimination is favoured by most respondents, and action is suggested in bothgeneral and individual terms. Race and gender are the contexts where action is feltto be most appropriate although some attention is also given to disability and socialclass.

The Policies That Should Govern Those Institutions (Universities, Schools,Colleges) That Offer Initial Teacher Education to Ensure That Issues Related toEquality of Educational Opportunity are Being Addressed.

The HMI report Responses to Ethnic Diversity in Teacher Training (1989) identifiesthe following factors which would appear to support positive practice: policydocuments which heighten awareness of ethnic diversity and encourage good prac-tice; tutors with first hand experience of teaching in multi-ethnic schools;co-ordinating posts for multi ethnic education; speakers and visitors from ethnicminority communities and students from ethnic minority backgrounds; direct experi-ences of multi-ethnic schools for students; adequate time throughout the teachertraining programme for consideration of equal opportunities issues and a cleardistinction between Special Educational Needs courses and provision for ethnicdiversity provision.

It will be seen that responses from students and staff echoed many of the pointsmade in the HMI report. The recruitment of students onto the PGCE course wasconsidered by all respondents to be of key importance. The majority of respondents,however, moved beyond the strict interpretation of the question and gave moregeneral answers on the institutional atmosphere which they felt would promoteequality of opportunity. Although the question identified different providers of initialteacher education, all the respondents, bar one, related their answers to the policiesthat they felt should be practised within H.E. institutions. The students' responses inthis respect may be a reflection upon the fact they had, at the time the questionnaireswere distributed, spent little time as part of their ITE course in school.

Many respondents indicated the importance that they felt should be attached to thediversity of student entry onto the PGCE course. One H.E tutor did identify selectionprocedures which she considered would promote diversity of access to the course:

Admission tutors should be aware of alternative routes into higher edu-cation. The application process (selecting candidates for interview;interview procedures) should be examined in order to eliminate proceduresand practices which discriminate.

Several replies stated that entry to the course and to the different curriculum areasshould be monitored.

Two respondents stated that cases of harassment should be dealt with through the

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establishment of clear guidelines for acceptable behaviour and appropriate sanctionsin cases were this was breached. One response stated:

Clear procedures should be in place in cases of harassment. These shouldbe known and understood by all members (staff and student) of theinstitution. Issues of harassment should be dealt with in a serious way.

One response identified the issue of institutional language:

All course documents should be written in a non discriminatory way.

The student respondents felt particularly strongly that the institution should lead byits' own example in relation to equal opportunities. Typical responses were:

Teacher training institutions must themselves take an active role in promot-ing equal opportunities within the educational system

Institutions should be setting an example with respect to equal opportunity.However, such institutions will have to work with limited resources andmake difficult decisions as to how to apply these.

... student teachers should be encouraged to assess the extent to whichequality of educational opportunity is practised in the institutions wherethey receive their training.

Leicester (1993) endorses the students' concern that University departments activelypromote and monitor their own equal opportunities policies and identifies theatmosphere of a department as a particularly significant factor. Those departmentswho work on less hierarchical lines and adopt less closed decision making proce-dures, discourage patronage and ensure that no individual acts in a discriminatoryway are the places in which antiracist policies are more likely to be implementedeffectively.

The social studies tutor considered in some detail the most appropriate means andthe most sympathetic atmosphere in which equal opportunities issues could beopenly discussed:

The worst excesses of positive discrimination and political correctnessshould be avoided but a simple aim to establish a meritocratic systemshould not be established as this merely reinforces existing elites. Anassimilationist approach will not be effective (e.g. an anodyne form ofmulticultural education), but a radical set of 'anti' policies (anti racist, antisexist etc.) will probably be counter productive. The institution shouldencourage its members to accept the reality of institutional and personalprejudice and discrimination and to explore positive ways forward.

This concern to deal with realities, particularly the reality of personal prejudice wasechoed in several student responses to this question. The desire of several respon-dents for an open forum in which equal opportunities issues could be raised anddiscussed will be considered in analysis of the responses to the next section.

The Elements Necessary in a PGCE Course to Enable Beginning Teachers toTackle Important Issues Associated with Equality of Education Opportunity

One factor that was considered important across all curriculum areas was that the

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there should be a coherent approach to the treatment of equal opportunities issueswithin the different elements of a PGCE course. This factor was identified as a meansof enabling students to develop a fuller and more complex understanding of the manyissues concerned with the provision of equal opportunities within their own practiceas beginning teachers. It was in this context that the contribution that partnershipschools could make towards a practical understanding of equal opportunities withina school based context was emphasised by many respondents.

Two UDE tutors (Social Studies and English) stressed the importance of incorpo-rating consideration of issues of equal opportunity into all aspects of the planningand delivery of a PGCE course. Whilst the content of the UDE based PGCEcurriculum was seen to be an important factor in the students' responses, it was thetutors who (perhaps not surprisingly) focused on active consideration of the learningprocess within the PGCE course as well as upon curriculum content:

There must be opportunities for students to gain a variety of experiencesin which issues associated with equality of opportunity are not 'hidden' asis often the case. Solutions should not be presented to students, but,following an honest identification of the many issues, there should beopportunities to identify realistic ways forward. This might involve visitsto certain institutions, pieces of assessment work on the theme of equalityof opportunity as well as the processes of all work and activity beingappropriate to the aim of achieving positive results.

The issues pertaining to equality of opportunity need to be integrated intoall aspects of the course. It should inform curriculum planning in terms ofsubject content; ways of working; groupings of students. Thus a strong linkneeds to be made between general understandings of inequality within theeducation system and the subject content of the curriculum area course. Itis through the serious consideration of these issues within a PGCE coursethat students will be able to see the importance of issues of educationalequality within their own practice.

There was, within the students' responses, a similar recognition that the UDE basedcourse needed to provide students with the space to discuss issues associated withequality of opportunity

In many cases this may involve students questioning their own prejudicesas they may on some issues be as ignorant as the pupils they will beteaching—I include myself in this too. Constant self-assessment andexamination I believe is a great and difficult skill. It is easy to becomecomplacent and assume you've got it right.

We need an open forum in which to discuss issues of equality—especiallythose of race.

In addition to an atmosphere of open debate which would promote confrontation ofaccepted and inherited attitudes and beliefs, the student responses identified twoelements that were felt to be necessary within a UDE based PGCE curriculum topromote understanding and to develop effective practice with relation to equalopportunities. These were, the provision of information about inequalities in educa-tional provision and the planning of a range of experiences, in which issues ofequality of opportunity could be explored.

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Student responses identified the provision of information, in the form of researchfindings within the area of equality of opportunity as an essential component withinthe PGCE course. Data and statistics, giving 'real' evidence of areas of inequalitywas considered to be a basis upon which individual practice could be examined.Typical responses were:

More information as to how and why inequalities do occur (statistics, forexample, although often thought of as tedious and sometimes misleading,do offer some evidence for sceptics, particularly in the case of genderdiscrimination.)

Balanced, clearly defined issues and aspects of all the relevant informationand arguments should be made available to PGCE students

Data and statistics on the extent to which this (equality of opportunity) isbeing achieved.

A social studies teacher further argued that it was important that:

ITT makes proper provision for the academic study of equality of educa-tional opportunity. This means not getting rid of educational studies andrelated subjects.

The English curriculum area tutor stated that students needed to have access to thefollowing areas of knowledge:

(i) Research evidence of patterns of inequality.(ii) The particular relation of issues of educational opportunity to their own

subject.(iii) The particular relation of issues of educational opportunity to their role as a

form tutor/pastoral care provider.

All the student responses emphasised the need for the PGCE course to providepractical and effective strategies to promote equality of opportunity within theindividual practice of beginning teachers. Typical responses mentioned the need for:

a practical course on avoiding discrimination.

instruction in different types of teaching methods which may benefitdifferent groups of pupils and encourage them to reach their full potential.

guidelines suggesting activities which would enable trainee teachers to bemade aware of the problems involved and the issues implied in dealingwith equality of educational opportunity.

advice on how we can integrate issues such as awareness and acceptanceof different cultures and religions into our general teaching practice in atactful and meaningful way.

This perceived need for guidelines and strategies to promote equality of opportunitywithin individual practice was in many responses complimented by the identificationof interactive teaching methods which many student respondents felt should beadopted within the PGCE course to enable students to examine their own attitudes.A typical response suggested:

Group discussions/role plays etc. introducing students as to how or whythey might be inequitable in certain situations.

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Other experiences were felt, by a variety of students to be valuable. These included:visits to schools with a multi ethnic intake; instruction in different types of teachingmethods which may benefit different groups of pupils and encourage them to reachtheir full potential and greater training in pastoral care issues related to equality ofopportunity.

Students of English and Social Studies felt particularly strongly that partnershipschools had an important role to play in their education as beginning teachersdeveloping a knowledge of equal opportunities issues. The school's contribution wasseen to be valuable on a variety of levels. Students highlighted in their responses, therole that schools could play in inducting students into the aims, the procedures andthe practices of equal opportunities policies as they operate within schools andLEAs:

It should be up to schools to make trainee teachers aware of equality ofopportunity schemes being run in their schools.

Students need to be able to look at policy documents produced by schools,particularly the schools they are assigned to, so that we could observe howsuch a policy operates in reality.

The social studies teacher emphasised the need to plan, within the context of theschool based aspect of the PGCE course, a coherent approach to the treatment ofequal opportunities issues. His response echoes the concerns of the Social Studiesand English tutors that equal opportunities issues should permeate all aspects of thecourse:

Ask schools to go well beyond a special one day equal opportunities'show'. It's crucial that mentors should be asked to ensure that EqualOpportunities features in the everyday work that they invite studentteachers to observe and engage in. Treating Equal Opportunities as a bolton extra won't do. That approach smacks of tokenism.

Conclusion

Equality of opportunity is currently low on the list of priorities publicly adopted bypolicy makers. However, the responses detailed in this paper show that there isamongst this group of PGCE students and staff, a consensus on certain key issues.One central finding has been that issues relating to equality of opportunity shouldpermeate all aspects of the PGCE course and should also be fully enacted within theworkings of a UDE department. This cohesive approach, in the opinion of theauthors, offers opportunities for fruitful collaboration between UDE departments andpartnership schools where theoretical and practical approaches to the issues ofequality of opportunity could be tackled in a collaborative, and mutually beneficialway.

Correspondence: Mary Bousted, Department of Educational Studies, University ofYork, Heslington, York YO1 5DD, UK.

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