Equality as a Concept that Needs the Effective Intervention - Essay Example

?Diversity and Equal Opportunities with Curriculum Links Introduction: Equality is a concept that needs the effective intervention of legal, ethical and procedural frameworks of a country to work in tandem to achieve the intended results. The vision of equality and equal opportunity to all, irrespective of considerations such as race, casts, religion, social status or gender, is a central to socialism. People normally consider that equality is an objective of a political programme. On the other hand, it is a general component of every society and there are things for which all people are equal, In democratic societies, equality concerns the equal to the right to access legal as well as other rights. The concept of equality introduces a complex and dense legal framework, in spite of its aim of harmonizing and simplifying the labyrinth of discrimination law. This legislation has been the conclusion of a long procedure, involving discussion with several researchers. The Equality Act is also the result of political movement by organizations that work for equality. The Equality Act is an important example of legal improvement that is both the result of a movement of grass roots towards entrenching equality rules, with legislation that will support equality rules in the wider community for bringing parity among all citizens in a country.  Ethical values support sustainable growth, which promotes the concept of equalities, by: Creating clear conditions for goods and services which identify those ethical values. Considering the ethical qualifications of potential suppliers, as well as specific fundamentals as part of the evaluation criteria where suitable. Requiring dealers of goods and services to give ethically options, and being willing to allow the further costs where these can be genuinely justifiable. Undertaking the ethical assessments that recognize which parts of the ethical Policy apply to a particular procurement and evaluate what impact those policies must have one process of procurement. In this context the act of ethical impact assessment as a co-coordinator of every other aspects impacts the assessment. Stereotypes cause assumptions and conclusions based on a person's gender and race preferences. Making such assumptions and conclusions in turn leads to discrimination. Stereotypes can be about religion, race, gender, disabilities, age, geographical locations and income. This practice has its origin in discrimination and is an unjustified and negative approach based on a person’s class or groups identity deriving either during past individual experiences or preconceived incorrect beliefs. It contains having an approach, perception or opinion about a group. Stereotype is a mental image developed as an effect of a myth or a misconceived notion. People don’t often realize the expression of their prejudices. Stereotyping is a finishing point and can be described as the act by which people imagine or recall an information regarding others based on their religion, race or other considerations. Discriminating and stereotyping against a certain class or a certain group of individuals that are mostly protected by law, not only influences the base line revenues of the place of work, but also decreases morale. It also discourages employees, limits the ability of recruiting and constraints the possibility of retaining talent. All these issues will not only reduce efficiency, but also subject the organization to legal proceedings that may cost millions of dollars in settlements and disciplinary damages, with the further risk tarnishing its image forever. Such practice can be extremely detrimental in the case of small and medium sized enterprises (SEMS). The population of students in different schools is highly diverse, and this group is likely to rely on generalization. These students differ from one another in many ways such as in culture and language environment, socioeconomic position, family histories, mobility, previous school experiences, and educational courses. Different cultures in curriculum are a way of helping students to learn how to act together in a different environment. It will also help a child to become a responsible citizen in a multicultural democracy, by respecting the right of others. Students could increase their knowledge while attaining a perception of different backgrounds which will help them to behave in a multiethnic, multicultural environment by honoring the culture and tradition of other people. For example in American schools, a number of students with limited backgrounds in English enter the classrooms with the perception that interacting with students and teachers of a different cultural background will improve their language. The majority of the student population in U S school comprises of Asian, Hispanic, African American or Native American students. This shows that there will be a great deal of cultural diversity in the schools as well as in the society. Different cultures have different manners of learning and interacting within the society, and when these different cultures are all joined together in one classroom, the process of education becomes more difficult. Therefore, it is necessary for the school authorities to react proactively towards diversity and encourage a sense of equality in students. In an educational setting, when students of different race, culture and ethnicity interact with one another, disagreements can easily occur. It is the responsibility of the teachers and parents to help the students understand the concept of equality and to develop mutual respect for one another. Through positive educational experiences and support for each individual’s point of view, the teachers could encourage positive social approach and respect for all in the students. Teachers should frame the ground rules for the class, and help the students to establish these rules. In this context, where ground rules are formed with the participation of students, they are more likely to respect such rules. Schools have a crucial role in establishing an environment where individuals respect the views of others and are aware of different viewpoints relating to any problem. They should adopt strategies for assisting students in areas such as imparting education to encourage mutual respect and insight, learning to live together, and citizenship and human rights education that will set a foundation for a closely knit and peaceful society. Teachers with the cooperation of students should create an open atmosphere where everybody feels free to converse freely about sensitive problems in a frank manner and sort them out. Ground rules that permit for a truthful discussion in a considerate manner should be developed, with the equal participation of all students. Teachers should be conscious of the chain of command in the classroom and aim to join together all students into this process. Establishing a code of conduct will also help to deal with the problems of discrimination and intolerance among students. Special attention needs to be given on supporting and mentoring of students. It is also necessary to pay particular focus on students with learning difficulties and provide them the required support so as to address their limitations. But, this should not create a misunderstanding that those students belonging to specific communities have to attend special classes because they are not limited by any physical or intellectual facilities. Thus the choice on the requirement for granting educational support must be made on the basis of purposive factors relating to the needs of students, not based on their ethnic, religious, or cultural surroundings. There is also a need to adopt culturally responsive instructional strategies in the curriculum, where students will show mutual respect and promote equity. Besides, students also must be made aware of the diversity of the world around them and the need to acknowledge the rights of others to receive equal opportunities. In so far as it relates to the issues of discrimination among students in school, most of the schools have adopted anti-discriminatory and anti-bias practices, which involve protecting children from discrimination, valuing them, confronting discriminatory practices, and presenting positive models for children right from an early age. Anti-discriminatory and anti-bias practices help to counter prejudice and discrimination that thrive in the society. Such practices have made it to the necessary to tackle children’s daily routine and relations with others that can contribute to the safeguarding of the concept equity help eliminate discrimination. Even though anti bias practices are imbibed throughout the early years of education system, educators have understood the real importance of it in the present education system. A large number of educators and leaders are teaching students how to manage and avoid discrimination and also programs and surveys are being widely conducted relating to the issue. Promoting an environment of inclusive learning that caters for every learner and their personal needs and meeting the challenges targets set in this region is a vast undertaking for providers across the skills and learning sector. Inclusive learning offers transferable, general pointers for providers alongside strategic issues, practical considerations and community involvement. There is a growing acknowledgment of the role and function of learning in promoting both social cohesion and economic success. This acknowledgment reflects the changed values of the society over the last 30 years. There has been an increase in the body of legislation encouraging educational equity, with regard to education in universal and to the post-compulsory skills and learning sector in particular. Notions of inclusion equity and social unity, access to learning and fairness increasingly form the cornerstones of educational policies. Significant strides are being made in the agenda of the inclusive learning to increase the involvement of groups of individuals presently under-represented, in the attempt to prevent disaffected learners becoming totally disengaged and disconnected from education. Inclusive practice happens when educators involve in the process of informed and thoughtful curriculum decisions and work in partnership with other professionals and families. This helps to guarantee that every child, including those with a disability, receives genuine and equitable opportunities to participate in and learn from the daily routines, interrelations and learning experiences and play that happen in early learning atmosphere and settings. Inclusive teaching means accommodating, identifying, and meeting the learning requirements of every student. It means acknowledging that learners have different needs of individual learning process and are members of various communities. Inclusive learning calls for a democratic approach to learning, which means every individual is given the same chances and opportunities to allow him or her to attain the potential. This further suggests that learners in the inclusive learning are treated in a different way, according to the needs of the individual, and where desirable are given extra support to address those needs. Inclusion concerns attitudes as well as practices and behavior. The attitudes of young children towards diversity are affected by the conduct of adults around them and by whether every family and child using the setting is welcomed and valued. Inclusive settings recognize diversity and acknowledge the rights of everyone. A key to successful transitions among settings catering for young students lies in the collaboration of differing elements. Educators in different division require sharing information regarding children’s strengths, interests and development. They also need communicating successfully with one another and with families, to guarantee that children’s prior learning is valued, their present needs are met and support for their current learning is consistent and concerted. Inclusion learning, with respect to children who have a disability essentially concerns educators recognizing that every child has the right to be valued and they engage in and contribute to the learning process. It involves getting to know every child well so that they can react to their needs and construct on their skills and strengths to guarantee they have equal opportunities to learn and participate. To give every child the best start possible, it is necessary that early learning programs offer various learning experiences and opportunities that are based on evaluation of information and the strengths, requirements, and interests of the children. “Although early learning programs are critical in laying the foundations for success in learning, the early years are also an important time in children’s total development” (The Full-Day Early Learning-Kindergarten Program 2010). Teachers, members of the society, early childhood educators, and families should work jointly to offer challenging and engaging experiences of learning that will build the confidence of children and encourage them to understand about learning as both useful and enjoyable, and provide a strong basis for their future physical, intellectual, and social development. Poor parent and child communication may adversely influence family dynamics and entail in sour relationships between parent and child. Successful communication relies on several interpersonal skills and also in active listening. Several complexities exist, and these can make the process of parent-child communication complicated. Negative communication may result in less self-esteem and faith issues in children. This may consist of interfering with children while they are talking constantly raising past issues that are already resolved, making the children feel guilty again based on their past mistakes. These deeds are habitually met with antipathy, mistrust and defensiveness from the children and may result in non-communication with their parents. Successful communication often relies on creating chances to converse with a child throughout the week. To be effective, communicating with children is necessary. More time spent for regular communications propose an opportunity to build up interpersonal skills and reinforce trust. Whereas, lack of shared actions and high anticipations for effortless efficient communication habitually result in entire poor communication among parents and children. Listening skills should be practiced frequently. Practicing listening as well as conversation sills are essential parts of efficient communication for both children and parents. It is easy to become unfocused due to other activities, which require concentration, although mere talking to each other may not favor successful communication. Parents should communicate in an age-appropriate manner to the child. Parents should not use difficult words for children, as they might find it hard to understand what the parents actually mean. Feelings of stress or confusion may result in less effective communication between children and their parents. Involvement of parents in education of their children is generally regarded as to have a considerable potential for assisting in children's development and educational performance, for empowering parents and also improving schools. The barriers in improving communication within community are that often community members are not aware of the affirmative things occurring in schools. Inclusive working is developed for promoting equivalent opportunities and consequently anti-discriminatory practices. It means flexible functioning of structures of operation and systems that consider what each individual can propose and what they need. Inclusion engages a focal point on making certain that each individual has the chance to be engaged and occupied in normal community life. The awareness and overcoming of barriers to inclusion will promote inclusion, and fighting discrimination will help to: Improve service users' approval and enhanced meet their requirements Augment the self-confidence of local and various communities Generate an inclusive and safe environment for all Increase equality and responsibility Diminish financial and personal costs. Anti-bias approach for diversity education goes beyond the realm of cultural issues and may also deal with class, faith, language, disability as well as gender. All types of bias are confronted and children are held up in developing empathy, therefore, identifying and defying discrimination or bias. The fundamental aim of an anti-bias approach to learning is to motivate adults and children in becoming lively and caring for each other. It also helps them to become decisive as well as critical thinkers. Conversely, the anti-bias approach even though important, is not be enough to serve the children better as there is a need to reallocate from an anti-bias to a educational negotiation model. Reference List The Full-Day Early Learning-Kindergarten Program, 2010, Queen’s Printer for Ontario. Available at Accessed on 27 September 2012]. Read More