Equity And Equality In Education

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Definitions of Equity and Equality: According to the dictionary the term equity implies to the “quality of being fair and impartial”. While equality is the state of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability. Equity vs Equality in Education The terms "equity" and "equality" are often misused and interchanged when referring to educational equity. Although similar, there are important distinctions to be made between the two. In Education “what is fair and just—may not, in the process of educating students, reflect strict equality—what is applied, allocated, or distributed equally Equity recognizes that some are at a larger disadvantage than others and aims at compensating for these peoples misfortunes and disabilities …show more content…

Equity assumed society had an obligation to provide a free education in a geographically accessible area and provide exposure to a common core curriculum. To be denied these things was to be treated inequitably. Whether or not the child chooses to benefit from this education is left up to the student and family. From the first glance this interpretation resembles the exact definition of equality stated above. In 1954 Brown v. Board of Education began to link equitable treatment to the results of the education a child received. In other words, giving the same to every child was not sufficient to determine equality without considering how the child benefited from the opportunity (Coleman,1968;Deshnes et …show more content…

In this case the larger role to achieving equity would be not depriving children with disabilities of the example and stimulation provided by high achievers which assigns them to low-achievement due to low expectations. Children with disability under this type of grouping will always be labeled as low achievers and be grouped as slow students. Once categorized, they generally stay at that level for their school careers, and the gap between achievement levels becomes exaggerated over time. The notion that students ' achievement levels at any given time will predict their achievement in the future becomes a self-fulfilling