EXZELLENZ UND EQUITY: NEUE BILDUNGSTHEORETISCHE PERSPEKTIVEN FÜR EIN ALTES SPANNUNGSVERHÄLTNIS

Abstract

EXCELLENCE AND EQUITY: APPLYING NEW PERSPECTIVES IN THE THEORY OF EDUCATION TO A TRADITIONALLY TENSE RELATIONSHIP – The majority of international assessments of school performance, as well as the international standards-based education reform focus on optimising the skills of children who perform poorly in school. This article, however, places the focus on the top␣performers (“excellence”) and links this with the theory of equal opportunities (“equity”). The article follows two main lines of argument. The argument relating to the theory of education deems the achievement of equal opportunities and equity likely only if and when all children start from an equal position and are then allowed to develop unequally and appropriately, according to their individual talents. The second argument highlights the tense relationship between excellence and equity with regard to school children’s varying home backgrounds, and asks how intellectual potential can best be discovered and encouraged. At the same time, the article demonstrates that the concept of accelerated learning, in differentiating between individuals within homogenous groups of learners, opens up a number of interesting perspectives and can ultimately redress the tense relationship between excellence and equity.