Equity In The Learning Society

Existing equity strategies for postcompulsory education and training in Australia were examined to assess their effectiveness in a learning society. First, the equity and access policies in schools, vocational education and training (VET), higher education, and adult community education were compared. Next, educational outcomes of target groups in each sector were examined to identify patterns of participation for specific disadvantaged groups and to determine the extent to which structural factors affect patterns of participation in each sector. The feasibility of developing access and equity policies that would transcend sectoral boundaries was also explored. The following were among the study's key findings: (1) government equity strategies could be improved by targeting low socioeconomic status students within all equity groups, reporting performance so as to focus on outcomes, and strengthening pathways to employment from education and training; (2) performance reporting could be improved by collecting and publishing data in all sectors to the standard set by the VET sector; and (3) although it is not necessary to redefine equity in the context of lifelong learning, governments may need to develop new approaches to equity policies and programs to ensure that workers are able to participate effectively in the knowledge economy. (Contains 130 references.) (MN)

This book presents a powerful model for using relational trust, cultural humility, and appreciation of diverse perspectives to build learning communities that collectively uplift all students and all members of the learning community.

This open access book presents contemporary perspectives on the role of a learning society from the lens of leading practitioners, experts from universities, governments, and industry leaders. The think pieces argue for a learning society as a major driver of change with far-reaching influence on learning to serve the needs of economies and societies. The book is a testimonial to the importance of ‘learning communities.’ It highlights the pivotal role that can be played by non-traditional actors such as city and urban planners, citizens, transport professionals, and technology companies. This collection seeks to contribute to the discourse on strengthening the fabric of a learning society crucial for future economic and social development, particularly in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease.

This book examines equity issues in school and society, drawing on history, sociology, literature, cultural expressions, films, and theory. The main objectives of the text are: to increase critical awareness of issues concerning equity in schools and society for students and teachers; to discuss the complexities of both school and society as institutions and search for paradigms which can highlight the dilemmas and lived experiences of teachers as they grapple with the interpretation and implementation of goals, policies and work to address students' needs; to generate greater awareness of the political economy of schools and societies; to increase understanding of hidden biases such as racism, classism and sexism in order to develop practical strategies of delaing with these forms of oppression; to enhance the acquisition of critical intellectual skills related to both comprehension and analysis of teaching and learning in a culturally diverse context; and to generate and reformulate teachers' roles in relation of the multiple demands of teaching and learning in complex environments.

This book is the first national study of Canadian educators' perspectives and practices of multicultural and anti-racism education. It explores teachers' perspectives on race and ethno-cultural equity, and offers solutions for some of the most pressing social justice and diversity issues facing educators in contemporary Canadian schools and society. The authors suggest that the ineffectiveness of professional development initiatives to move educators from a posture of resistance to one of transformation points to the need for a more progressive anti-racism teacher education pedagogy. Based on a proven Urban Diversity Teacher Education model, this book provides theoretically driven practices for simultaneous renewal of teacher education in the university, partnership schools and the communities they serve. It links the sensitive issues of race, ethnicity and culture to broader equity, social justice and diversity themes in Canadian society and institutions.

"The contents of this book are extremely timely as more US public schools are moving to "push-in" programs for their English Learners (ELs) or following the increasing trend to launch DL programs as a way to offer instruction support for ELs. In this book, the authors use culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families as an umbrella term to discuss ESL and DL families. This book is intended to reach ESL teachers, content-area teachers teaching ELs, dual language teachers, administrators, and school personnel who work and support CLD parents. Despite the varied instructional approaches to addressing ELs needs, limited scholarship exits on the marginalization of CLD parents as leaders in the decision-making processes of today's schools. This book examines the divisive practices of existing parental involvement models that prevent parental engagement in ESL and DL contexts; the importance of addressing parental engagement amidst current political discourse surrounding immigration that further alienates EL parents; and the need for more proactive, action-based models that identify contributions of parents and community partners. By re-defining parental engagement as a mutually inclusive theoretical perspective, school, community and home become conduits for transforming student learning and improving school climate"--

Educators must both respond to the impact of trauma, and prevent trauma at school. Trauma-informed initiatives tend to focus on the challenging behaviors of students and ascribe them to circumstances that students are facing outside of school. This approach ignores the reality that inequity itself causes trauma, and that schools often heighten inequities when implementing trauma-informed practices that are not based in educational equity. In this fresh look at trauma-informed practice, Alex Shevrin Venet urges educators to shift equity to the center as they consider policies and professional development. Using a framework of six principles for equity-centered trauma-informed education, Venet offers practical action steps that teachers and school leaders can take from any starting point, using the resources and influence at their disposal to make shifts in practice, pedagogy, and policy. Overthrowing inequitable systems is a process, not an overnight change. But transformation is possible when educators work together, and teachers can do more than they realize from within their own classrooms.

Contemporary Issues of Equity in Education argues that equity and social justice must be brought back to the centre of discussions about education. It traces international, system-wide and local effects of policies that increase marketization and competition between students, schools and systems, whilst erasing wider considerations of the socio-cultural contexts that shape educational experiences and outcomes. Leading researchers interrogate the design of educational systems for social justice, fairness and inclusion at multiple levels from classrooms and schools through to universities and initial teacher education. Chapters trace the ways in which gender, ethnicity, class, and refugee experiences intersect with indices of socio-economic disadvantage in ways that directly impact on young people’s learning and on the pedagogical work of teachers. The book demonstrates collaborative and inclusive approaches for researching schooling in disadvantaged communities. It offers strategies and practices for reimagining schools and universities in ways that enable young people in high poverty and culturally and linguistically diverse communities to effectively engage with education.