Diversity in Education We are not all the same…

Anna Šafránková, MAVladimíra Kocourková, Ph.D.Palacký University in OlomoucFaculty of EducationThe Czech RepublicEmail: annsafrankova@gmail.com

Content of the Lecture

• Diversity in Education

• Inclusion in Education

• Education of Socially Disadvantaged Pupils in The Czech Republic

What does diversity mean in education?

Figure 1 Diversity in Education(Taken from egale.ca)

Diversity in Education• One of the features, values, and challenges of a

democratic, pluralistic and future-oriented society. • Diversity is “when many different types of things or

people are included in something (CALD, 2005). • Diversity is defined as “the quality of being made of

many different elements, forms, kinds, or individuals”. (Robert, 1995)

• Diversity can be described as: – The quality or state of being composed of many different

elements or types.– The quality or state of being different.

What kinds of human diversity we can find at school?

Diversity in Education

Figure 2: Dimension of Diversity (Taken from http://www.uscg.mil/diversity/Diversity101.asp)

The role of dialogue within diversity in education

• Concern

• Trust

• Respect

• Appreciation

• Affection

• Hope (Rocena In Pol et. al., 2006)

Inclusion in Education• Valuing all students and staff equally.• Increasing the participation of students in, and reducing their

exclusion from, the cultures, curricula and communities of local schools.

• Restructuring the cultures, policies and practices in school so that they respond to the diversity of students in the locality.

• Reducing barriers to learning and participation for all students, not only those with impairments or those who categorised as “having special educational needs”.

• Learning from attempts to overcome barriers to the acces and participation of particular students to make change for the benefits of students more widely.

• Viewing the difference between students as resources to support learning, rather than problems to be overcome.

• Acknowledging the right of students to an education in their locality.

• Improving schools for staff as well as for students.• Emphasising the role of schools in building community and

developing values, as well as in increasing achievement.• Fostering mutually sustaining relations between schools and

communities.• Recognising that inclusion in education in one aspect of

inclusion in society (Index of Inclusion, 2002).

Figure 3 The Culturally Inclusive School (Taken from Index of Inclusion)

Cubing

ARGUE FOR

X

AGAINST IT

ANALYZE IT

DESCRIBE IT

COMPARE IT

APPLY IT ASSOCIATE IT

Figure 4Inclusion – Exclusion – Segregation – Integration (Taken from http://www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org/education/inclusion/)

Socially disadvantaged pupilsSocial disadvantage can be understood in three views:• in terms of certain family characteristics

relating directly to the child• in terms of their personal characteristics• in terms of social group characteristics of their

family. Robert J. Havighurst (1964, p. 41)

Socially disadvantaged pupils in the Czech educational environment

Social disadvantage shall mean: • a family environment with a low social and cultural

status, threat of pathological social phenomena;

• institutional education ordered or protective education imposed,

• the status of asylum seeker, a person enjoying supplementary protection, or a party to proceedings for granting international protection in the Czech Republic. (Art. 16 section 4 of Law No. 561/2004 Coll., the Education Act)

How would you characterize the socially disadvantaged pupils in your country?

„Children, who learn together, learn to live together“

Figure 5 Diversity (Taken from www.marjon.ac.uk)

Resources• Act No. 561/2004 collection of law, on Pre-school, Basic, Secondary, Tertiary

Professional and Other Education (the Education Act), as amended.• BEVERIDGE, S. Children, Families and Schools. Developing Partnerships for Inclusive

Education. Routledge; New edition edition, 2005. ISBN 978-0-415-27934-5.• CLEGG, Judy a Jane GINSBORG. Language and social disadvantage. Theory into

Practice. England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2006. ISBN-13: 978-0-470-01975-7. • HAVIGHURST, R., James.. Who are the socially disadvantaged? In The Journal of Negro

Education, Vol. 34, No. 1, p. 39-46. 1965.• JEŘÁBEK, J., et. al. Framework Education Programme for Basic Education. Praha:

Výzkumný ústav pedagogický.ISBN 80-86956-01-6.

• POL, Milan. ed. Dealing with Diversity. A Key Issue for Educational Management. Brno: Masaryk University, 2006. ISBN 80-210-4090-4.

• BOTH, T. AINSCOW, M. Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. [online]. Centre for Studies on Inclusion Education, 2002. [cit. 2012-05-07]. Dostupné z: <http://www.eenet.org.uk/resources/docs/Index%20English.pdf>.