Lesson 2: Equity vs Equality
Contents
1 Introduction
- 1.1 What is Equality?
- 1.2 What is Equity?
2 How does this apply to education?
3 How can equity be ensured?
4 Questions to ask yourself
5 Real-life scenario
6 Activity
What is Equality?
Equality refers to the state of being equal or treating everyone the same regardless of their individual circumstances. This concept focuses on providing everyone with the same resources, regardless of if all the individuals involved need it. Even though the term equality typically is a synonym for “fairness,” does giving everyone the same resources regardless of their abilities truly constitute as fair?
What is Equity?
Equity, however, refers to ensuring fairness by considering an individual's specific needs and potential barriers they may face. This concept recognizes that everyone needs different levels of support to achieve a desired outcome. The term equity is used to promote the concept of inclusion and aims to address systematic inequalities.
How does this apply to education?
This picture perfectly demonstrates how equality does not necessarily mean fair. Take the picture on the left for example. The term equality means that everyone gets the same thing, therefore everyone is given a box that is the same size. Though this is considered equality, is it fair? Even though everyone received the same box, the third individual cannot see the game and his individual circumstances were not highly considered when creating a solution to this problem. However, if you turn your attention to the illustration on the right, everyone did not receive the same size box but this way they all can watch the baseball game. In this photo, everyone's individual circumstances, such as height were greatly considered when determining a solution to this problem. Even though this technically isn’t considered as equality because everyone did not receive the same resources, it is fair because everyone was given what they individually need to succeed. The same goes for education because a one-size-fits-all approach of equality does not lead to equitable outcomes for students.
If you wanted to imagine an example of equity vs equality in a classroom setting, picture a math lesson. All students are expected to achieve the learning objective, but some may need more support according to their individual circumstances. A legally blind student for example, may need the text on their instructional materials enlarged and extra time during assessments. Does this mean every student should receive materials with enlarged text and extra assessment time? No, because not every student may need it, just one student requires it due to their individual needs.
How can equity be ensured in the classroom?
- Get to know each student individually and understand their unique strengths, challenges, and learning styles.
- Provide differentiated instruction and support based on students' individual needs and preferences.
- Create a culturally responsive and inclusive curriculum that reflects the diversity of students' backgrounds and experiences.
- Advocate for resources and policies that promote equity at the school and district level.
What questions should I be asking myself when providing equitable opportunities for students?
- What are the individual needs of my students? - take the time to understand the individual backgrounds and learning styles of your students.
- Are there any barriers to learning that certain students may face? - consider a students home life, socioeconomic status, language proficiency, disability and cultural background.
- Am I providing resources and support that meet the diverse needs of all students? - ensure you're providing a wide variety of instructional materials for students. What may work for one student may not work for another.
- How can I differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners? - understand the different academic difficulties of your student and consider modifying your lessons to address individual student needs.
- Am I regularly assessing and reflecting on my practices? - continually reflecting on your own teaching is essential! You must be willing to improve or make changes to your teaching style based on feedback and evidence.
- Is my curriculum culturally responsive and inclusive? - Evaluate whether your curriculum reflects the diversity of your students' background. If not, perhaps consider discussing these issues with school administrators.
Real-Life Scenario:
I have used the concept of equity over equality numerous times in the classroom, especially while implementing project-based learning. The project I assigned involved researching your favorite book from this school year and writing a couple of sentences summarizing the text. A teacher's first instinct may be to divide the students into groups of four, ensuring that each group has an equal number of students. They may consider giving the same set of instructions and resources to complete the project, and allocate the same amount of time for research and preparation. However, while this approach may seem fair on the surface, it's not accounting for the diverse needs of my individual students. Furthermore, in order to address the individual needs of my students and ensure that they have an equal opportunity to succeed, I needed to provide some additional supports. This could involve providing accommodations to students who need it, such as assigning roles within the group based on students' strengths, providing extra time or assistance for students with learning disabilities, or offering alternative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of the material.
Activity
Please complete the following matching quiz and written response prompt for unit 1.
https://quizizz.com/embed/quiz/662d718b5a819d863dc11369
Continue to the next Unit: Unit 2: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
References:
What influence does culture have on a student’s school success? IRIS Center. (n.d.). https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/clde/cresource/q1/p03/