Equality vs. Equity

When thinking about the concept of justice, it makes me wonder who defines the term and under what circumstances concepts are considered just or not. When looking at the etymology of the word 'justice', it makes me think about how the term is utilised and how it is misused as well. According to it's Latin roots, from the Latin word iustitia, it means "righteousness, equity". (Etymology Dictionary) I often think about how we should provide equal opportunities for education and you hear about righteous phrases such as, 'no child left behind'. According to who's standards? 'There will be people who violate 'our' sense of justice, rights, and freedoms. (Nodding, 393)

However, shouldn't we be more equitable as educators? I came across this image above, which made me think about the concept behind equality versus equity. When referring to the opportunity to receive an education and the chance to learn...this is something that we all should have the right too. However, to give everyone an equal form of education could be problematic. We all have our strengths and areas of need. If we only provided one form to everyone, some of our students will succeed and others will not. Individuality is important to recognise in the pedagogy of teaching and learning. This could be addressed from many different approaches, such as looking at student ability to a child's cultural background. Through my research on the matter, I came across Sonia Nieto's work on the five levels in a continuum of moving a school to becoming more multicultural. The concepts are one to consider, but they can also be applied in different contexts other than multiculturalism. These 5 levels include:

1. Monoculture
2. Tolerance
3. Acceptance
4. Respect and Affirmation
5. Solidarity and Critique - see video below for more details (S. Nieto, 2010)

When thinking about justice in our classrooms, I often think about how I am catering to the needs of my students.  Am I providing opportunities in a fair and equitable manner? Can my students access the curriculum in a manner which is understandable? Am I providing myself the time to contemplate or reflect on my practice before and after the delivery of a lesson? I feel the concept of justice within the role of the teacher is a lot more complex than we think. We always think and believe that we are there for our students, and want to teach material for understanding and meaning. However, are we being critical and reflective in our own practice to realise whether we are doing 'justice' to the role?