Creating equitable learning

One of the concepts discussed at the recent Alberta Rural Education Symposium was that of students living in poverty and how this impacts our schools. It was noted that students whose families are living in poverty do not perform on average as well as their wealthier counterparts do in school. A key concept of that discussion was that of “equity literacy” and how this concept is needed to ensure all students have equal opportunities in learning.

Equity literacy was a term coined by Paul Gorski and Katy Swalwell and is defined as: “The skills and dispositions that empower, support and position individuals to recognize, respond to and redress conditions that deny some students access to quality educational opportunities received and enjoyed by their peers, and in doing so, resultantly sustains equitable learning environments for all students and their families.” Paul C. Gorski’s, Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap (Teachers College Press, 2014).

The discussion at the symposium centred on how can we ensure equitable learning environments for all of our students? Teachers work with students from all walks of life, cultures and backgrounds every day. They need to adjust their classrooms to reflect the learning needs, culture and in many cases, the socioeconomic reality of their students. This can be a great challenge given the complexity of today’s classroom.

The first step is to recognize the biases and inequities, even the subtle ones that exist. The most obvious of these is the cost to play a school sport, go on a field trip or take a class which requires an additional fee. The more subtle biases include assigning homework that requires internet research after school, or an assignment that requires special materials to complete. Does everyone in the class have access to the internet at home? Do specific materials need to be purchased? These situations may not allow some students to complete the assignment.

The next step in a framework to success is the ability to respond to the biases and inequities. Once we recognize the situations, how do we respond to ensure student success? Ensuring our educators have the skills and knowledge to address these concerns is key. To be successful, educators must create an equitable learning environment by considering how they assign homework and whether their families have different levels of access to resources. We must also ensure that school and classroom policies do not disadvantage students based on financial need.

The good news is that many schools have been using the approach of equity literacy for years. The Alberta government has developed policies to ensure school fees are reduced and that healthy nutrition is available to students. These are all great starts to creating equity, but only once we address the subtle inequities that exist, we will be well on the road to ensuring equal opportunities for all students.

Dave Driscoll is Superintendent of Schools for Palliser Regional Schools.