Equality And Equality In Education Essay

Equality and equity whilst having similar grounding in tertiary education, are different concepts working towards parallel aims. Certainly, there is no shortage of disagreement within the academic world on the definition if equity and equality, as Espinoza (2008, p. 343) states that there is disagreement and confusion about what the concepts of equity and equality really mean and what they involve. Equity recognises that there are some who are ‘worse off’ then others, which limits their access to engaging in public discourse such as education, therefore steps are required to be taken to provide these people with equitable access to education (Schement, 2001). The University of Edinburgh on their Equity and Diversity page (2015), define equality as the equal and fair treatment of individuals or groups of individuals no less favourably or specific to their needs despite their diversity. In …show more content…
Equity on the other hand aims to equip those students deemed as ‘disadvantaged’, to have the same equal opportunity as those who are not ‘disadvantaged’. These concepts seem the same yet there is frequent debate on their use in the educational sector and their exact definitions. This interpretation of the definitions of equality and equity, can be seen to demonstrate the difference in their functions within an educational context. It is important though to consider the application of these principles within the educational environment to provide a true distinction of their differences.
Under the circumstances in which an individual is deemed disadvantaged their equal access to education is granted through the concept of equity. An illustration of equity to remove educational disadvantage includes the two objectives, aimed at advancing ‘fairness’ through the change of involvement configuration, and,