Diversity and Equity Today: Defining the Challenge Chapter Twelve Diversity and Equity Today: Defining the Challenge (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Liberal Ideology: Meritocracy Reexamined Does inequality stem from individual deficiencies or external conditions? The debate resurfaces in 1960s and continues. Setting the stage GI Bill Brown v. Board of Education Civil rights movement, Vietnam protest, social unrest, “War on Poverty” (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Coleman Report Most African American and white students attended separate schools. According to measurable curriculum, these schools were similar. White students performed better on standardized tests than African American students. Educational inputs (facilities, curricula, teachers) made no meaningful difference in outcomes. “Quality of peers” made some difference. Minority children begin school with lower scores and the gap continues to increase over the years. (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Cultural Deprivation Studies—Flawed but Accepted Moynihan & Mosteller Educational inputs already equalized More money for schools would provide little benefit Poverty stems from personal problems Jencks Cognitive ability dependent on characteristics of child entering school Economic success due more to luck or peculiar talents than background, schooling, IQ, intellect (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Race, Ethnicity and the Limits of Language Race as a socially constructed concept Terms of ethnic identification not consistent; often disputed Categories are often used divisively, but without them, we cannot track inequality and inequity, especially in education (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Ethnicity: Income and Wealth Income differences are very real for different racial and ethnic groups Family income correlates highly with school achievement Income differences therefore mean different life chances for children (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Ethnicity: Employment Unemployment differentials are dependent upon socioeconomic conditions other than education Additional education in and of itself is not likely to overcome differences among groups as long as discrimination exists (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Ethnicity: Family and Housing Single-parent families mainly white non-Hispanic, but more black single-parent families in poverty Infant mortality rate among African Americans twice that of whites Patterns of segregation have changed little in 30 years Draining of manufacturing jobs from central city leaves devastation (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Socioeconomic Class Groups by wealth, income, power, occupational responsibility, social prestige, cultural identity Poverty still hits ethnic minorities, the young and women at disproportionate rates Poverty rates stable over time and impervious to educational attainment Gap between rich and poor increasing The “power elite” (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Socioeconomic Class and Education Racially, with each successive stage of formal schooling, the pool of minorities eligible for the next stage is reduced ethnicity Standardized testing, tracking, segregation, language issues are obstacles for many minority students The higher the socioeconomic status of student’s family, the more likely is access to a “better” school, more resources, parental involvement—perhaps regardless of race or ethnicity (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Equity, Education and Handicapping Conditions 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act Special education population has grown, but labeling may be misdirected Possible benefits to identify difficult children as learning disabled, to child’s detriment (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Gender Employment Income Benefits The “glass ceiling” Predominantly female occupations Income Wage gap still exists; worse for African American and Hispanic women Benefits Motherhood damages careers Other countries provide benefits U.S. does not (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Gender and Education Sex definition and role socialization begins early School culture, teacher behaviors, textbooks can all reinforce gender bias As girls get older, they lower their goals The current gap in math, science, technology Teacher education has not confronted gender bias adequately (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Concluding Remarks The failure of liberal ideology and the “meritocracy myth” Cultural contexts shape academic and economic success Schools and the cultural deficiency misunderstanding Gender and cultural sensitivity as a response (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

Developing Your Professional Vocabulary cultural deprivation studies Education for All Handicapped Children Act equality equity Ethnicity GI Bill “glass ceiling” for women “Hispanic” meritocracy “model minority” race racism sex-role socialization sex vs. gender socioeconomic class (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e