Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
(In Education)
The idea that the purpose of schooling is to provide equal
opportunity for all students as well as the ability to deal with diverse
others in the public arena, a common core of knowledge, and a
common set of democratic values and practices. [1]
Equal Opportunity
The typical American Dream vouches that if an individual works
hard enough, they will be able to see the results and achieve an
amount of success that correlates to the amount of work put in. The
freedom for people in society to function with this idea in mind stems
from the educational institution providing all students with equal
funding, physical capital, opportunities, and assessment in order to
maintain a level playing field during and after completing their
education.
Diversity
Since overlap and conflict are bound to occur among individuals
in any given setting, it is imperative for schools to prepare students to
not only coexist, but also understand differences among each other.
This includes gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political views,
References
[1]
public schools. In The American dream and the public schools (pp. 927). New York: Oxford University Press.
[2]
[3]
Social Groups
. . . A social group is a collective of persons differentiated from
at least one other group by cultural forms, practices, or way of life.
[1]
Social Relations
Social groups only exist when related to one or more different
groups. For example, group A and group B have a social interaction
and their differences thus identify them as relating to one group or the
other. But if members of group A and B were to have a social
interaction with another group C, more differences may come into play
and the social groups may change with the addition of another
component, and members who were originally in different social
groups within A and B may now be in the same group for one reason or
another. Members of these groups tend to relate and gravitate towards
members of their own group because of the similarities that bond
them. If a group were to only have knowledge or associate among
other members of that group, they would essentially not even think of
themselves as a group. However, it is when other people with various
differences are introduced that these social groups are created.
Oppression
An inevitable result of different groups in contact with each other
is the historical and even current practice of oppression, whether it be
intentional or not. Power struggles or differences among groups have,
and may result in:
Exploitation: The work of one group solely benefits another group
instead of their own.
Current Relevance
There is still a long way to go in terms of providing equality
among all social groups within education. It is important for educators
and administrators to take into account the different attributes,
historical past, stereotypes and culture of groups in order to effectively
educate and bring awareness to what makes people unique, while still
treating students as individuals when it comes to academics and not
discriminating or placing students in accordance with those
stereotypes.
References
[1]
(Eds.). Readings for diversity and social justice (pp. 35-49). New York:
Routledge.
[2]
[3]
Discrimination
[Noun] The process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect
are responded to differently. [4]
Individual Discrimination
Individual discrimination refers to the behavior of individual
members of one race/ethnic/gender group that is intended to have a
Examples
Historically, obvious examples of individual discrimination
most notoriously include the KKK targeting black citizens, and other
hate crimes and actions during, before, and even after the civil rights
movement. This definitely affected schooling as well, because
segregation carried over into schools and resulted in drastic inequality
between designated black schools and their white and light skinned
counterparts. [See also institutional discrimination]
Individual discrimination may also occur in schools in the form of
bullying. A new movie released in early 2012 appropriately titled
Bully recently sparked conversation about the serious actions going
on behind the scenes in schools and buses that often gets dismissed as
typical child or teen behavior. It is not secret that discrimination for one
reason or another can, and does lead to suicide or other drastic
attempts for escape. Bully has an online movement that can be
found at http://action.thebullyproject.com/. [2]
Institutional Discrimination
Institutional discrimination refers to the policies of the dominant
race/ethnic/gender institutions and the behavior of the individuals who
control these institutions and implement policies that are intended to
Further Definition
Since dominant groups are usually those who create, enforce,
and defy rules, norms, and laws in society, they are generally the ones
who end up doing the discriminating rather than being victimized by it.
White people, and affluent white males especially are usually more or
less safe from discrimination
A common controversy regarding institutional discrimination in
education is the implementation of affirmative action. Some people
believe that while affirmative action aims to level the playing field for
those of different races, it is actually discriminating against White
people.
Examples
Along the lines of racial discrimination mentioned in Individual
Discrimination, institutional discrimination occurred legally in the form
of the Jim Crow laws during the early 1900s. The state mandated
segregation of Black and Whites is one of the most iconic means of
institutional discrimination in our countrys history.
In addition, an extremely recent example of institutional
discrimination occurred when the state of Virginias legislature decide
on their proposal to opt out of the No Child Left Behind law. They
decided upon a new set of educational goals where students would be
held to different grading standards depending on their race. This
included White students being held to the highest percentage
standard, Asians at the next down, and then Black, Latino, and
disabled students at the lowest standard. [3] This new set of guidelines
gives students non Caucasian students deliberate differential
treatment solely based on their race and the stereotypes that they see
in the academic setting.
Structural Discrimination
Structural discrimination refers to the policies of dominant
race/ethnic/gender institutions and the behavior of the individuals who
implement these policies and control these institutions, which are
race/ethnic/gender neutral in intent but which have a differential
and/or harmful effect on minority race/ethnic/gender groups. [1]
Examples
References
[1]
(Eds.). Readings for diversity and social justice (pp. 35-49). New York:
Routledge.
[2]
[3]
[4]
Dominance
Dominant groups, by definition, set the parameters within which the
subordinates operate. The dominant group holds the power and
authority in society relative to the subordinates and determines how
that power and authority may be acceptably used. [1]
Male Gender
Able Bodied
Caucasian
Christian Religion
Heterosexuality
Wealth
Female Gender
Trans/Intergender
Handicap/Disability
Ethnic Diversity
Homosexuality
Poverty
Societal Implications
Policies, laws, education structure, relationship and social norms
are all determined by the dominant group in society. Often times this
involves the dominant group having the most highly valued positions in
society while non-dominant groups are automatically demeaned to
lower expectations and opportunities.
Conferred Dominance
Conferred dominance is the power that goes along with
dominance allowing the individual to exercise privilege over others,
simply because they are in the dominant group.
Examples In Education
[1]
Linguicism
Language Terms
English Language Learners
Individuals whose native language is not English, but are
learning English.
Monolingual
The ability to speak only ones native language.
Bilingual
The ability to speak a native language as well as another
language fluently.
Multilingual
The ability to speak multiple languages fluently.
Limited English Proficient
An older term for English Language Learners.
Language Minority Students
Students who speak a minority language in the United
States. [1]
Historical Significance
The United States has had a track record of valuing the English
language as an academic stronghold and marker of capability.
Attempts to eliminate languages other than English have been
common especially with Native American and Latino people. However,
the year of 1974 marked a significant change in law regarding students
whose native language is not English, in the form of The Equal
Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA). The EEOA focuses on lessening
the challenges and language barriers in schools that would not be
offering equal opportunity or participation without it. Essentially, the
Bartlesville) and took the test with graphic symbols both individuals
passed, and then moved back to Bartlesville.
This article is both an example of how language is and is not
seen as a measure of cognitive ability. The Bartlesville department
thought that without the written test in the standard English language,
then citizens were not capable or deserving of the license privilege. On
the other hand, the department in Kansas that provided the exam with
graphic symbols proves that written language, particularly English, is
not the only true measure of cognitive ability. [5]
References
[1]
http://banninghistory.blogspot.com/p/banned-book-list.html
[5]