Equality of opportunity and equality of outcome

The report on the findings of extensive empirical research on equality of educational opportunities carried out in the US on a very large sample of public schools by Coleman and his colleagues has had a major impact on education policy and has given rise to a large amount of research and various interpretations. However, as some interpreters have highlighted, even more important than the findings of the survey themselves has been Coleman’s redefinition of equality of opportunity, abandoning the then prevailing conception of equality of educational opportunities as equality of starting points and replacing it with the concept of equality of educational opportunities as equality of educational outcomes. The question is, therefore, whether equality of outcomes really is one of the two types of equality of opportunity. The purpose of the present article is to show that equality of opportunity and equality of outcomes are two different types of equality. If they are different, the interpretation that Coleman has redefined the concept of “equality of educational opportunity” turns out to be incorrect. (DIPF/Orig.)

Equality of opportunity, cultural diversity and claims for fairness

The present paper examines some of the tensions, problems and challenges associated with claims for equality of opportunity (the fairness argument). The introductory part identifies three separate forms of justification for public education, including the argument associated with equality of opportunity. Part II examines in detail two questions that reveal part of the anatomy of equality of opportunity: (1) what an opportunity is, and (2) when individuals’ opportunities are equal. This is followed by a presentation of the two basic principles of equality of opportunity: (1) the principle of non-discrimination, and (2) the “levelling the playing field” principle. The next part takes up the multiculturalist hypothesis advanced by minority groups for the accommodation and recognition of cultural diversity. This is followed by the identification of a set of claims comprising the “fairness argument”. The last section focuses on the “currency problem” associated with cultural diversity as a form of “unfair disadvantage”. Part V examines two of the major shortcomings associated with the multicultural conception of equality of opportunity, while the concluding part discusses some of the questions that must be answered by any conception of equal opportunities. (DIPF/Orig.)

Lehrererwartungen und Ethnizität. Innerschulische Chancendeterminanten bei Migrantenschülern in den Niederlanden

Der Autor legt dar, daß es in den Niederlanden immer noch eine indirekt von ständischen Prinzipien bestimmte Schule gibt, in der die soziale Herkunft der Schüler das Lehrerverhalten bestimmt und an den Schüler je nach Schichtzugehörigkeit unterschiedliche Anforderungen gestellt werden. Der Beitrag untersucht aber auch die Rolle des Faktors Ethnizität bei der Behandlung und Beurteilung von Schülern. Die Arbeit ist Teil einer größeren Repräsentativstudie, die an 44 niederländischen Grundschulen mit einem hohen Anteil von Migrantenschülern durchgeführt wurde. In der Untersuchung erwies sich die Schichtzugehörigkeit der Schüler als bedeutsamer als die ethnische Zugehörigkeit. Das hat auch Konsequenzen für pädagogische Maßnahmen. (DIPF/Orig.)

Die Schweiz und ihr Bildungswesen. Von Babylonia zu MultiKulti

Das gegenwärtige Verständnis von multikultureller und viersprachiger Schweiz wird hier in seinen Paradoxien beleuchtet. Ein Perspektivenwechsel vom Assimilations- über das Ethnizitäts- zum Diversitätsparadigma in der Migrationsforschung wird am Beispiel dieser schweizerischen Problematik nachgezeichnet. Der Perspektivenwechsel ist auch in der theoretischen Diskussion über „interkulturelle Pädagogik" in vollem Gang, wie eine Reihe von Konzepterweiterungen in bezug auf Ziele, thematische Schwerpunkte, Klientel, in der Schweiz und den sie umgebenden Ländern zeigt. Doch die Umsetzung in bildungspolitische und pädagogische Strategien wird nach wie vor durch ideologische und materielle Hindernisse erschwert. Von dem Diversitätsparadigma und von einem erweiterten Begriff sprachlich-kultureller Minderheit ausgehend, und indem zwei von der „interkulturellen Pädagogik" suspendierte Grundsatzfragen (die Chancengerechtigkeit und die ethnische Entscheidung) in das Zentrum gerückt werden, skizziert die Verfasserin Optionen für eine Bildung in der sprachlich-kulturell pluralen, in Europa eingebetteten Schweiz. (DIPF/Orig.)

Coleman’s third report

The article analyses the (third) Coleman Report on private and public schools. The report scrutinises the relationship between private and public schools and shows that private school students show better academic achievement. Coleman concluded that these findings provided a strong argument in favour of public financial support for private schools. However, he identified a number of school characteristics that he believed to be related to student achievement. According to his analysis, these characteristics were not limited to private schools; public schools exhibiting the same characteristics also had good results. Coleman interpreted the available data in favour of financial aid to private schools, although this was not the only possible interpretation. An alternative conclusion would have been to encourage these characteristics in public schools. Why did Coleman disregard this possibility? Why did he deviate from his usual scientific rigour? The present article suggests that there appear to be two reasons for the narrow interpretation of the relationship between public and private schools in Coleman's third report. The first lies in Coleman's notion of contemporary society as a constructed system in which every individual actor holds a place in the structure and requires incentives in order to act to the benefit of society. In the case of education, the goal of the institution is to ensure the high cognitive achievement of students, and the incentive is related to choice and competition. The second reason is related to Coleman's vision of sociology as a discipline aiding the construction of an effective society. (DIPF/Orig.)

The age of studies and reports: selected elements concerning the background of encounters defining the power of education

In the present paper, we discuss the time before the “age of reports”. Besides the Coleman Report in the period of Coleman, the Lady Plowden Report also appeared, while there were important studies in France (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1964; Peyre, 1959) and studies that inaugurated comprehensive education in Nordic countries. We focus on the period after the World War II, which was marked by rising economic nationalism, on the one hand, and by the second wave of mass education, on the other, bearing the promise of more equality and a reduction of several social inequalities, both supposed to be ensured by school. It was a period of great expectations related to the power of education and the rise of educational meritocracy. On this background, in the second part of the paper, the authors attempt to explore the phenomenon of the aforementioned reports, which significantly questioned the power of education and, at the same time, enabled the formation of evidence-based education policies. In this part of the paper, the central place is devoted to the case of socialist Yugoslavia/Slovenia and its striving for more equality and equity through education. Through the socialist ideology of more education for all, socialist Yugoslavia, with its exaggerated stress on the unified school and its overemphasised belief in simple equality, overstepped the line between relying on comprehensive education as an important mechanism for increasing the possibility of more equal and just education, on the one hand, and the myth of the almighty unified school capable of eradicating social inequalities, especially class inequalities, on the other. With this radical approach to the reduction of inequalities, socialist policy in the then Yugoslavia paradoxically reduced the opportunity for greater equality, and even more so for more equitable education. (DIPF/Orig.)

The sources of inequity in the education system of Serbia and how to combat them

The concept of equal opportunity for all students is deeply embedded in the Serbian constitution and in education laws. On that level, there is no doubt that everyone is ensured an opportunity to receive quality education. Many measures in education policy have been created specifically to achieve this objective and make the system fair and inclusive. The Coleman Report was linked to a wave of optimism that certain educational measures would help in achieving these noble goals. This aim is a high priority in education in a democratic country, and due to its importance needs to be re-examined. Thus, the present research examines the equity of students in the Serbian education system, detecting areas on all educational levels that could be (or already are) systemic sources of inequity (e.g., criteria for preschool institution enrolment, the system of student awards, rationalisation of the school network, the concept of entrance exams to secondary school or university, etc.). A number of measures have already been taken in the system specifically to deal with inequity (e.g., the Preschool Preparatory Programme, dropout measures, inclusion, scholarships, etc.). The effects of these measures in particular are analysed in the present work. In addition to an analysis of the systemic sources of inequity in the Serbian education system, the article also makes recommendations for their overcoming. (DIPF/Orig.)

Erziehung zur Gleichheit. Mathilde Franziska Annekes Töchter-Institut in Milwaukee und ihr Eintreten für Rechte der Frauen

Im Zentrum der vorliegenden Untersuchung steht das 1865 gegründete Töchter-Institut Mathilde Franziska Annekes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dieses Schulprojekt der Achtundvierzigerin und Frauenrechtlerin wird verglichen mit Bildungsreformansätzen der Amerikanerin Catherine Beecher sowie solchen deutscher Pädagogen. Zum einen soll dabei die Besonderheit von Annekes Konzept herausgearbeitet werden, zum anderen soll der Stellenwert der Schule in den Frauenrechtsaktivitäten von Anneke beleuchtet werden. Die Analyse der sozialen Herkunft ihrer Schülerinnenschaft ergibt eine Neubewertung von Annekes Stellung als Frauenrechtlerin in Milwaukee. (DIPF/Orig.)

Das bildungstheoretische Potenzial inklusiver Pädagogik. Meilensteine der Konstruktion von Bildung und Behinderung am Beispiel von Kindern mit Lernschwierigkeiten

Inklusion erfordert Veränderungen, Umbau und Umdenken auf vielen Ebenen. Ob Teilhabe gelingt, entscheidet sich letztlich im pädagogischen Alltag. So muss in einem inklusiven Bildungssystem auch geklärt werden, was Bildung ausmacht, wenn sie alle Kinder adressiert. Was bedeutet hier Bildung und in welchem Zusammenhang stehen die Konstrukte von Bildung und Behinderung? Wurden doch traditionell die Grenzen des ersten systemwirksam mit der Zuschreibung des zweiten markiert. Das vorliegende Buch thematisiert in historischer Perspektive die sich verändernden Vorstellungen über Bildung, Behinderung(en) und Gerechtigkeit im Bildungssystem sowie die damit verbundenen kontroversen Debatten sowie die häufig uneinheitlichen, teils gegenläufigen Entwicklungen der sogenannten Sonder- und der sogenannten Regelpädagogik. Die Analyse arbeitet die Beiträge integrations- und inklusionspädagogischer Theorien (Reiser, Feuser, Prengel, Wocken, Reich) zu einem gemeinsamen Bildungsverständnis für alle Kinder heraus. Diese Potenziale integrations- und inklusionspädagogischer Theoriebildung werden eingeordnet in bildungstheoretische Dimensionen sowie in die aktuellen Debatten um Inklusion und Bildung als Menschenrecht. (DIPF/Orig.)

Offen werden für demokratiepolitische Themen. Politische Bewusstseinsbildung in verpflichtenden Gender-Trainings trotz persönlichen Widerstands

Wie kann in Seminaren zu Genderkompetenz Offenheit erzeugt werden, wenn die Teilnehmenden sich nicht freiwillig für den Besuch entschieden haben und daher mit Desinteresse oder Widerwillen reagieren? Der vorliegende Beitrag beschreibt ein didaktisches Vorgehen, das den persönlichen Widerstand von Teilnehmenden aufzulösen vermag und letztlich ein Problembewusstsein für soziale Ungleichheit initiiert. Zentral sind hierfür die Reflexion persönlicher Erfahrungen und ideologischer Diskussionen, die Ungleichheitsthemen meist mit sich bringen. Das vorgestellte didaktische Vorgehen im Gender Training, das u.a. Kompetenzerwartungen an Führungskräfte im Bildungsbereich entlang Geschlechterstereotypien aufdeckt, ist auch für andere Themen der politischen Bildung einsetzbar. Um also ein politisches Bewusstsein über Hierarchisierungs- und Diskriminierungsprozesse zu befördern, ist es wichtig, Ausschließungsprozesse im Alltag erlebbar zu machen und zu erkennen, wer vom Ausschluss anderer profitiert, wer die Ausschlusskriterien festlegt und dass unterschiedliche Kriterien dafür geeignet sind. (DIPF/Orig.)

Keeping the promise? Contextualizing inclusive education in developing countries

Inclusive education became a global promise corroborated by international declarations such as the Salamanca Statement (1994) and the Incheon Declaration (2015). Most countries worldwide have committed to the goal of inclusive education, putting a lot of pressure on so-called developing countries. Against this backdrop the threefold purpose of this book is to: 1. Generate research evidence on the development and implementation of inclusive education in developing countries, 2. Contextualize inclusive education in specific developing countries and contexts, and 3. Reflect on the future of inclusive education in developing countries. (DIPF/Orig.)

Effective Approaches to Enhancing the Social Dimension of Higher Education

Despite all intentions in the course of the Bologna Process and decades of investment into improving the social dimension, results in many national and international studies show that inequity remains stubbornly persistent, and that inequity based on socio-economic status, parental education, gender, country-of-origin, rural background and more continues to prevail in our Higher Education systems and at the labour market. While improvement has been shown, extrapolation of the gains of the last 40 years in the field show that it could take over 100 years for disadvantaged groups to catch up with their more advantaged peers, should the current rate of improvement be maintained. Many of the traditional approaches to improving equity have also necessitated large-scale public investments, in the form of direct support to underrepresented groups. In an age of austerity, many countries in Europe are finding it necessary to revisit and scale down these policies, so as to accommodate other priorities, such as balanced budgets or dealing with an aging population. An analysis of the current situation indicates that the time is ripe for disruptive innovations to mobilise the cause forward by leaps and bounds, instead of through incrementalist approaches. Despite the list of programmes in this analysis there is very little evidence as to the causal link between programmes, methodologies for their use and increases/improvements in equity in institutions. This creates a significant information gap for institutions and public authorities seeking for indicators to allocate limited resources to equity improving initiatives, without adequate evidence of effectiveness. The IDEAS project and this publication aims at addressing and improving this information gap. (DIPF/Orig.)

Leonie Herwartz-Emden / Verena Schurt / Wiebke Waburg: Mädchen und Jungen in Schule und Unterricht. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag 2012 (137 S.) [Rezension]

Rezension von: Leonie Herwartz-Emden / Verena Schurt / Wiebke Waburg: Mädchen und Jungen in Schule und Unterricht. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag 2012 (137 S.; ISBN 978-3-17-020903-9)

Klaus Hurrelmann / Tanjev Schultz (Hrsg.): Jungen als Bildungsverlierer. Brauchen wir eine Männerquote in Kitas und Schulen? Weinheim und Basel: Beltz Juventa 2012 (316 S.) [Rezension]

Rezension von: Klaus Hurrelmann / Tanjev Schultz (Hrsg.): Jungen als Bildungsverlierer. Brauchen wir eine Männerquote in Kitas und Schulen? Weinheim und Basel: Beltz Juventa 2012 (316 S.; ISBN 978-3-7799-2750-1)