Discuss Issues of Equality

Entitlement, comparison, inclusivity, diversity and differentiation. Basically, all of these ar about acknowledging and respecting the individual needs of your learners, helping and backing where appropriate. (Gravells, A, 2008). Before any discussion it is essential for every maven to understand the terms Equality and Diversity. Diversity is defined as valuing the differences in people whether they stem from race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, suppurate or disability. Equality is offering each person equal rights and opportunities despite any differences. Gravells, A, 2008). So Equality is about the rights of learners to attend and participate regardless of their gender, race, heathenish origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation or age. And Diversity is about valuing the differences that people have and appreciating their individual characteristics. Above all it is important as a teacher, keeping equality and diversity in mind, to find ways to promote inclusion of all learners, yet through differentiation by using difference approaches and resources, to finds ways to rival the needs of individuals at bottom the group. Differentiation is one of the tools that teachers contribute use to promote equality and diversity. It is the accommodation of differences between learners to allow each individual the best incident of learning. (Petty, 2004). This is could be done by adapting teaching styles or resources so that all learners receive equal opportunities. Referring back to the teacher / training cycle, preparation and planning leave enable us to best promote inclusion for all learners, and enable us to access other points of referral if necessary.During the planning process, all learners should have an initial estimation for suitability and to diagnose strengths and weaknesses. The need to potentially access other points of referral could appropriately be picked up in this initial assessment. Learners will be diverse on the basis of ma ny different backgrounds and needs. These may include learning needs such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, Aspergers syndrome, socio economic status, health both mental and physical, age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, spectral beliefs and size to name but a few.Differentiation will enable the teacher to meet the needs of these individuals yet value their diversity. The main ways to differentiate are by Task, Outcome, Resource and Support. Different tasks can be set for different people but with the same aim in mind allowing for their different needs and diversity. The same task can be set but a different outcome is expected from individual learners. Different resources and different support can be provided for learners allowing for the individual needs of the whole class to be met.Group work and buddying up can be used so that peers can support one another. Students with a learning disability will benefit from a scaffold to their work and the environment can be adapted to help, by for exa mple desegregation learning support into classes. There may be a point at which it is assessed that a learners needs cannot be met adequately within the specific learning environment due to some of the above diversities. Here, it is appropriate to refer the learner so that their needs can be met.College counsellors, welfare officers and connexions advisors may be appropriate where it is deemed that the learners needs are not being met. To conclude my discussion, I will follow the words of Malcolm Knowles. As a learning organisation there is a need to understand the needs of our students. The major problems of our age deal with human relations the solutions can only be found in education. Skill in human relations is a skill that must be learned it is learned in the home, in the school, in the church, on the job and wherever people gather together in small groups. (Malcolm Knowles, 1950,13)