What is the difference between equal opportunity and inclusivity?

Answer 1

The essence of inclusivity is understanding and catering for the different potentials, needs and resources of our children. One important aspect of this is meeting the needs of all children through effective learning and teaching. Inclusivity in education starts with the recognition of our diversity. It is treating children as individuals rather than as an homogeneous group. It is about involving all children in classroom practices by valuing their uniqueness and what they bring to the classroom. It is about valuing their interests, experiences, abilities, insights, needs, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, learning styles and intelligences.

Inclusivity embraces the idea that since everyone is an individual, we need to organise schools, teaching and learning so that each children has a learning experience that 'fits'.

Catering for the educational needs of all children in our schools is a complex issue. The range of cultures, linguistic backgrounds, and social and economic situations within communities, the increasing demands of new technologies, accountability requirements in literacy and numeracy, providing enrichment and extension, and supporting students with special needs all add to this complexity. Inclusivity arises from the objective of improving educational outcomes for students and broader social justice considerations of equity, access and participation. With a more globalised and increasingly diverse society, inclusivity recognises that the operation of a democracy requires an in-depth understanding of a variety of perspectives and contributions as well as the ability to listen and learn from the lives and cultures of a variety of people. While there are legislative requirements to ensure all students have equitable access

to education, teachers also have a professional responsibility to address inclusivity in their practice. The link between sociocultural factors and school success indicates that schools support the learning of some groups of students more than others. In particular, students from sociocultural backgrounds which most closely reflect the culture of the school and the staff perform better at school. It is important that rather than having an education system for most students, we ensure that we have an education system for all students. Herein lies the promise of democracy, equal opportunity, meeting personal aspirations and social cohesion.

Answer 2

Equality of Opportunity is the "expectation that citizens may not be discriminated against on account of race, gender, or national background, and that every citizen should have an equal chance to succeed in life". A good example of equality of opportunity would be healthcare, education, and employment. Equality of outcome on the other hand is the "expectation that equality is achieved if results are comparable for all citizens regardless of race, gender, or national back ground, or that such groups are proportionally represented in measures of success in life". An example of this can be seen in the work place promotion, a promotion will go to the person who is most qualified and is likely to perform the tasks of the job correctly and most efficiently. The promotion isn't given to them based on their race, gender, or national background but instead is given to them based off of their skills and qualifications. The difference between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome is "outcome" or "result" instead of "condition". Opportunity gives everyone a chance to qualify or fail to qualify, and Outcome means that some people must be hired on the basis of who they are (ie race, gender, national background) rather than what they can do.