Social Justice – Rebecca Smith UWS ITE ePDP

The most recent focus on in Society and Lifestyles on inclusion and equality has been disability. We used this as an example to allow us to specifically think about certain types of inequality and exclusion in society. Disability is just one of the many named characteristics which are protected against discrimination by the Equality Act, 2010. However, this allowed us to think in depth about Allport’s Scale of Prejudice and Discrimination using clear examples. Upon reflection of my own experiences witnessing and learning about real-life examples of antilocution, avoidance, discrimination, physical abuse and extermination, I considered that as a person of privilege, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to truly understand how people of the characteristics stated in the Equality Act, 2010 feel and deal with day to day tasks which I often take for granted as being easy.

I was then lead to consider the question: Does disability come from the impairments themselves or from the physical and social environment? I would have to argue the latter. It is very often not the impairment which prevents people from going about every day activities, but it is the restrictions caused by the environment which has been physically and socially built up to suit the majority. If we take example from John Rawls’ belief that in order to achieve equality as fairness, we must look to the least advantaged people first and consider that which would suit them. It is only by doing this that we will begin to see a shift towards a world which accommodates for everyone equally and as integrated.

In a TED talk filmed in October 2009, Aimee Mullens discussed her beliefs about adversity. She believes that adversity itself is not the problem – it is a challenge but it is one which must be looked at from a positive and pro-active point of view. Diversity is everywhere! It always has been and we are developing new ways in which people who are disabled can function most freely. However, it is the attitudes of society and the old fashioned building methods which are behind in the times. It is these two factors which are preventing many people with disabilities from seeing whatever impairment they may have as a part of them which makes them different – not less valuable. It is these which are segregating the advantaged from the disadvantaged.

As I make that statement it brings me to wonder, how can we distinguish between someone who is advantaged and someone who is not? My personal definition of advantage would be something which makes a person a step ahead of someone else. In this day and age should we really be considering people who are different as people who are disadvantaged? The mind-set of society must change as we cannot continue to impose this kind of negativity towards people who may look, act or feel differently to the majority. Aimee Mullens also discusses the idea of normality. It is society which creates this vision of a normal person and it is society which puts pressure on people to be no different to normal. Whether that be a child who is particularly clever at school; someone who chooses to die their hair purple; someone who doesn’t have much money; someone who lives in a different place to you; someone who plays a certain sport; or someone who hates sport and loves to read! The list could go on forvever until the characteristics one must have to be normal create a completely unrealistic view of a person who could not exist! We all have our qualities and our flaws, our likes and our dislikes, our circumstances and our lifestyles. We are all different and there is no true “normal”. Since normal can never exist, we are all competing in an endless cycle against those who are particularly different from us.

In our world of today, we must prevent people who have disabilities from being disadvantaged in any way. It is this line between advantage and disadvantage which creates two groups of majority and minority and which prevents either group from truly understanding the intentions or feelings of the other. As Nancy Fraser believes, it is our advantages which blind us from appreciating the contribution of minority groups. Therefore, the idea of Universal Design, if put in to practice from now on when designing new buildings, we should be able to see a more equal society. Not only allowing for equality as fairness but by influencing attitudes about disabilities. We are all so heavily influenced by society that if it was physically built with disabled and able bodied people considered as one, the line between the two would hopefully fade. This would hopefully lead to less discrimination and a more modern outlook on the possibilities disabled people have.

It is therefore fair to conclude that as a teacher I shall always consider those who are least advantaged in the class room before making sure that the classroom environment suits every child. I also see the great importance in educating children, as emphasised by Nancy Fraser, about minority groups and ensuring that every child’s needs are catered for in an equal, fair and inclusive way.

From learning about this today I found myself faced with many questions which I previously had not considered. Some of which I have discussed above and some of which I shall take away with me and look into further before I conclude my answers. One thing which really stuck with me from watching the Aimee Mullens TED talk was her quote “The exact meaning of the word ‘educate’ comes from the root word ‘educe’. It means to bring forth what is within, to bring out potential.” We must, as educators, students and members of the community, do our very best to bring out the very best in every person and provide them with the support to strive.

What is inclusion? Is it laws and policies which state that all types of people must have a voice? Or is it more than that? Are these laws and policies really any more than a steeping stone towards true fairness of treatment and opportunity?

I believe not. I would agree with Nelson and Prilleltensky (2010) that in order to achieve true inclusion, we need to connect and to legitimise. That is, as a society we must respect each others differences and we must act against those who say or do discriminatory things. Inclusion can be discussed in many different levels, namely personal, relational and societal. At each of these levels inclusion has different concerns. At a personal level, inclusion is concerned with giving people control over their own lives and allowing them to have a say. At a relational level, inclusion is concerned with providing people with comfortable and supportive relationships, while at a societal level, inclusion looks to provide people with the material help that they may require and is related to creating a more equal society.

Inclusion within politics and education are both extremely significant when discussing the affects and importance of inclusion. Lani Florian looked into inclusive pedagogy and found that in order for teachers to become more inclusive, they must focus on the learning of all pupils, not just that of those who require more support. Reading about this, I was able to relate as during my years spent at school, I did not often require as much support as some of my peers. However, despite the fact that I did not have additional needs, I sometimes felt as though my work and ideas were sidelined. Upon reflection I can see that this was clearly because my teachers required to spend more time with those who needed extra help, but for pupils who were of a similar ability to myself, it must be considered that some of them may not have reached their full potential as they were not included or challenged enough by the teacher. I found myself looking at this finding of Florian’s and wondering: sometimes, in an educational setting, is it those who do not have additional needs that are in the minority? And so is it this group that we must make sure not to forget?

Lack of inclusion can lead to negative relationships between minorities and large communities and this can very easily lead to tensions between them as all different groups begin to build up negative perspectives of those they have poor relationships with. Tensions and disagreement of beliefs, as well as poor treatment can lead to the formation of radical groups and a lack of peace in the world. It can also cause poor mental and emotional health of those who are not being included as they may be made to feel as though their characteristic of minority makes them less valuable. With poor mental and emotional health, the loved ones of these people will also be negatively affected as they are worrying about and consoling this person who they wish to see happy. Inclusion is therefore extremely important and must always be considered in society.

Peggy McIntosh discusses “privilege” as an advantage which all people who do not fall into the category of every single minority has. She believes that this means that those of us who do not have a certain characteristic which would make us a part of a minority, are privileged as we have the required belongings which allow us to be included and to be free in all walks of life. To McIntosh, this means that those of us who fall in to this category, can never truly understand the feelings of the disadvantaged.

Closely related to inclusion is equality. There are various different approaches towards the meaning of equality, including equality of opportunity. This refers to providing all people with the same opportunities and the same starting point. I would not consider this as always being equal. Clearly, providing different people with the same chances in the beginning, it not going to provde them with equal chances of success. Another approach when looking at equality is that of outcome. This approach demonstrates the need for more than the same opportunities as it goes further. It looks at rewards and praise, often encouraging the view that no matter what happens throughout, different people’s outcomes should always be the same. However, as both of these approaches are clearly flawed, equality as fairness and equality of condition ensure that different types of people are provided with the require support and are never prevented from reaching their full potential due to their differences.

These conditions are discussed by Lynch and Baker (2005) as equality of resources such as health care, education, income and family; equality of respect and recognition such as opportunities to make a contribution and to be accepted; equality of love, care and solidarity, meaning that all people should have equal access to these through organisations like care facilities and transportation; equal access to power which refers to the ability to hold control over your life and to help make decisions and; equal access to working and learning.

However, it is clear that not all of these conditions of equality are understood and practiced by all people. Therefore, sadly, discrimination remains as a widespread problem. People can display prejudice in various different ways and I found it interesting to see that Allport (1954) wrote a book called ‘The Nature of Prejudice’ and discussed this in terms of its least to most extreme forms. He began with Antilocution, which refers to discrimination in the form of words. Often, those who say offensive things about people who belong to a minority group are not being intentionally hurtful to them, but their preconceptions and assumptions about that specific type of person makes their words uneducated and unkind. Verbal abuse can range across a huge scale and can become equally as offensive as physical abuse. The next on the list discusses avoidance, whereby a person may avoid, exclude and isolate another due to their differences. After this is discrimination, this refers to preventing certain types of people from using services or getting to do something because of their differences. Then there is physical attack, followed by extermination.

Allport (1954) said “Although most barking foes not lead to biting […] there is never a bite without previos barking.” (p. 57). I would interpret this to mean that although most talk does not lead to physical action, there is never physical action without previous talk. Therefore, although verbal abuse of the smallest form may seem harmless to some, it may eventually lead to physical action, may that be from the person who is being discriminated against or the person who is discriminating. No matter who begins the physical action, there is potential for conflict within spoken words, so we must always be aware of the words we use and the way in which we express our opinions, making sure they are not offensive. We must also ensure that we are well educated about different types of people because with a clearer understanding we can develop a fuller acceptance, meaning that our words are less likely to be based on preconceptions and assumptions.

The Equality Act 2010 named nine characteristics which are not to be discriminated against and made it clear that people in positions of authority within communitues must work to get rid of discrimination and to encourage equality and inclusion for all.

From learning about this topic today I have become intrigued to discover more and to look further into the idea of advantage and at the different theorists of Mel Ainscow, Nancy Fraser and John Rawis. As a teacher I believe that inclusion and equality are two vastly important and influential aspects of classroom life that I will require to be conscious of and to understand how best to encourage these throughout my career.

References

Allport, G.W. (1954) The Nature of Prejudice. Reading (Mass): Addison-Wesley.

Lynch, K. and Baker, J. (2005) Equality in education: An equality of condition perspective. Theory and Research in Education. 3(2), pp. 131-164.