Diversities in Education

Effective ways to reach all learners

David Mitchell

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781317408468
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Diversities in Education is a challenging text that will help educators, teacher educators and trainee teachers to be more effective in teaching a range of diverse learners. It covers five major categories of difference: sex and gender; social class and socio-economic status; race, ethnicity and culture; beliefs and religion; and different abilities and asks the urgent questions all policy-makers, educators and students should consider:

• Why should we value diversity and human rights?
• How can inclusive education accommodate diversity?
• How do society's aspirations for cohesion and harmony impact on people who are different?
• What meanings are given to differences, culturally and historically?
• Should educators seek to accentuate, eliminate, reduce or ignore differences?

By drawing attention to the latest research into the most effective educational policies and practices, this insightful book suggests strategies for meeting the challenges being posed in an era of superdiversity. It's a crucial read for any training or practising educator who wants to address the issue of diversity, learn effective ways to reach all learners and create more inclusive and harmonious societies.

1 Differences and samenesses

An introduction

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.

(Margaret Mead)

1.1 Introduction

Human beings have many features in common, some they share with some others, and many are specific to themselves. It is this diversity that enriches our lives in countless ways every day. Yet, to some, diversity elicits contempt, even fear, and challenges their acceptance to the point where they may discriminate against those who are different, marginalize and even persecute them.

At least in western countries, populations are becoming increasingly diverse. This reflects a range of factors, including the impact of globalization with the attendant mobility of labour; the upsurge of refugees fleeing conflict or the consequences of global warming, or seeking better economic futures; changing demographic profiles resulting from such factors as differential fertility rates among various groups; and independent choices of identity exercised by free citizens. With reference to Britain (but with wider application), Steven Vertovec, Professor of Transnational Anthropology at the University of Oxford, has termed this trend ‘superdiversity’, which he defined as

a dynamic interplay of variables among an increased number of new, small and scattered, multiple-origin, transnationally connected, socio-economically differentiated and legally stratified immigrants who have arrived over the last decade.¹

Unfortunately, diversity – and superdiversity – often creates intolerance and conflict at macro (societal) and micro (individual) levels, creating vulnerabilities in children. By addressing issues to do with diversity, schools can and should do much to create more peaceful, just and equitable societies (and world) based on mutual respect and tolerance. I hope this book contributes to this goal.

1.2 What we mean by ‘different’ and ‘diverse’

Typical dictionary definitions of different are not the same as another or each other; unlike in nature, form, or quality. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘different’ has its origins in Middle English differren, meaning to distinguish, and Latin differre, meaning to bear apart, put off. The definition of diversity is a range of many people or things that are very different from each other. It is derived from Old French diversite, from Latin diversitas, and diversus. Diverse is the past participle of divertere, meaning ‘to turn aside’.

With respect to human beings, ‘difference’ and ‘diversity’ both typically refer to the dimensions of sex and gender; socio-economic status; race, ethnicity and culture; beliefs and religion; and special needs. These constitute the ‘big five’, which are the focus of this book.

In a challenging paper, Nicholas Burbules itemized several different ways of thinking about differences, in what he referred to as ‘a grammar of difference’.² Briefly, these include: (1) difference of variety, as in different kinds within a particular category, e.g., different national identities; (2) difference in degree, as in differences along a continuum of qualities, e.g., skin colour; (3) difference as variation, as in different combinations of and emphases upon certain elements, e.g., different body types or different states of ability or disability; (4) difference as a version, as in a familiar standard that is altered through interpretation, but, unlike a variation, it leaves the key elements of the standard unchanged, simply giving to them a different sense of meaning and tone; e.g., differences of sexual identity; and (5) difference as an analogy, when differences are identified as relative, not to common standards, but to comparable, parallel standards, e.g., different moral distinctions.

1.3 Differences fascinate us

The media and, presumably, we, its consumers, are attracted to stories portraying human differences. Some differences we admire, even envy; others repulse us or engender fear; all seem to fascinate us. This range is illustrated in a selection of stories I have seen in newspapers in the course of a week:

• Gender differences: An item discusses civil unions and same sex marriage; a columnist stated that it was ‘quite hard being a woman’, as there are ‘lots of rules’ that ‘turn up implicitly in editorials, popular commentary and casual conversation’.

• Socio-economic status differences: A report indicated that the 85 richest people on the planet have accumulated as much wealth between them as half of the world’s population. Another report noted that the richest 1% currently own 48% of all global wealth.

• The International Organization for Migration was reported as saying that more than 1 million migrants and refugees had crossed into Europe in 2015, amid the fallout of war, poverty and persecution in Africa and the Middle East. This represented more than a four-fold increase from 2014.

• Religious differences: The European Court of Human Rights has upheld France’s law banning face-covering Muslim veils from the streets, in a case brought by a woman who claimed her freedom of religion was violated; forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Mosul warned Christians to leave, convert to Islam or face execution; in my city of Christchurch, New Zealand, a mother protested about the law that permits the teaching of religion in state schools under some circumstances.

• Intellectual differences: An item described how outstanding creative design formed the basis of sustainable business opportunities.

• Physical differences: An Australian study showed that children as young as eight are dissatisfied with their bodies and that the majority of 10- and 11-year-olds are trying to control their weight; under a provocative headline, ‘Talking about an awkward issue’, an article raises the question – should disabled athletes be competing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow?

• Personality differences: A woman in an abusive relationship is found guilty of stabbing her partner; a man with the intriguing name of All Means All in prison for threatening to kill the prime minister, gave up his hunger strike.

• Age differences: A research report showed that first-born children are more likely to be the most ambitious and well-qualified of their siblings.

• Family structure differences: A correspondent’s column described her experiences with a woman who had 11 children.

1.4 Differences can have serious consequences

Throughout the centuries and across the world, many people who are different have suffered from the effects of xenophobia, discrimination, segregation and marginalization. In the most serious of circumstances, their differences have led to them losing their lives in wars and other conflicts. According to the United Nations, during the 1990s a total of 53 armed conflicts resulted in 3.9 million deaths, nearly 90% of whom were civilians,³ numbers that equate roughly to the entire populations of the city of Los Angeles or to the countries of Ireland and New Zealand. In addition, in 2002, there were approximately 22 million international refugees in the world and another 20-25 million internally displaced people.⁴

Being different has led to many individuals or groups being excluded from meaningful participation in education and society more generally. In its most extreme form, difference has resulted in attempts to exterminate whole classes of people, for example in Nazi Germany and, more recently, in Rwanda and Iraq/Syria. Even in modern, ‘advanced’ societies children who don’t conform to dominant discourses are vulnerable to stigmatization and alienation.

1.5 Some education systems discriminate against those who are different

Unfortunately, education systems, both historically and contemporaneously, are replete with examples of active or passive discrimination against various groups of people – those of colour, those with disabilities, those with certain religious beliefs, immigrants, the poor, females … Sometimes this discrimination has been benevolent and motivated by a wish to do the best for children as, for example, in the setting up of special schools or special classes for children with disabilities; at other times, the discrimination is overt and hostile, reflecting broader social values as, for example, apartheid-era education of blacks and coloured children in South Africa.

1.6 Goals and perspectives

This book is underpinned by two goals and 19 cross-cutting perspectives relating to how education and society should respond to diversity. The two goals are:

A. to respect and enhance the human rights of diverse people, and

B. to develop an inclusive society and global community.

The cross-cutting perspectives comprise the following:

1 Theories of distributive justice should underpin our approach to diversity

2 Diversities must be seen from an ecological perspective

3 Perceptions of diversity vary across time and space

4 Finding the right balance between sameness and diversity is a challenge

5 Interest convergence helps to explain shifts in behaviour and policies

6 Diversities intersect with each other

7 There are multiple causes of diversities

8 Human beings are genetically similar

9 Consideration should be given to an evolutionary perspective on diversity

10 Many differences are quite small, even if they are statistically significant

11 Economics play a major role in catering for diversities

12 Education is multi-level and multi-faceted

13 There can be a mismatch between children’s and schools’ cultural and social capital

14 Reason and evidence should determine educational policies and practices

15 Account should be taken of the impact of disruptive technologies on job prospects

16 Technology has the potential to transform education

17 The focus should be on the uniqueness of individuals

18 Universal design for learning provides fair opportunities for learning

19 Early prevention and intervention programmes should be developed.

1.7 Goal A: To respect and enhance the human rights of diverse people

Quite simply, it is important that we recognize that people who are different have human rights. Consideration of society’s responsibilities towards children who are disadvantaged for whatever reason must be predicated on the broad concept of human rights.⁵ These rights inform us as to what we may, must, and must not do to others and what we may expect of others in their behaviours towards us.

In 1948, the United Nations agreed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, it wa...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Differences and Samenesses: An Introduction
• 2 Sex and Gender Differences
• 3 Social Class/Socio-Economic Status Differences
• 4 Race/Ethnicity/Culture Differences
• 5 Religions/Beliefs Differences
• 6 Different Abilities
• 7 Conclusions
• Index