Equity and inclusion in education
Equity and inclusion in education refers to the principle or policy that provides equal access for all learners to curriculum and programming within an educational setting. Some school boards have policies that include the terms inclusion and diversity. Equity is a term sometimes confused with equality. Equity and inclusion policy provide a framework for educators and academic administrators that guides training and delivery of instruction and programming. School boards use equity and inclusion principles to promote the use of resources that reflect the diversity of students and their needs. Diversity and inclusion is important in the classroom for multiple reasons There are children that come from all different walks of life. Everybody situation is not the same and we need to be culturally aware of that and be mindful.
Children have the inherent right to education as determined by the Goal 4 targets of the United Nations. In the past, equity and inclusion referred primarily to students with mental and/or physical challenges that prevented them from learning in regular classrooms. The principle now applies to marginalized students who live with any type of intersectionality based on their social identity. The capabilities approach introduced by Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen supports the ideal that each learner should be offered the freedom to choose from the alternative ways they learn and to do it as a shared experience, with the interaction of their peers.
It has been shown that schools that are able to implement inclusive and equitable practices tend to be more successful if they have endorsement or support at the regional and national levels of government. Besides the need for infrastructure and resources, cultural attitudes and beliefs strongly influence the creation and sustainability of effective programming in schools.