Educational Equity Research Articles

Diversity, inclusion, and equity in Qatar’s K-12 schools: exploring strategic approaches for recruitment, development, and retention

This critical review study aimed to thoroughly evaluate methods for fostering principles of diversity, inclusion, and equity in the hiring, training, and retention processes of educators in Qatar’s schools. It incorporated the analysis of existing policies and practices, and the identification of gaps to propose evidence-based methods that likely enhance the three principles among educators. It also sought to provide additional knowledge and potential solutions that may significantly improve them. Further, I studied effective methods for enlisting educators from varied backgrounds, considering cultural, linguistic, and other relevant considerations, to satisfy the urgent demand for diversity among educators. Examining the importance of professional development programs in this context was crucial in encouraging inclusion and equity. Many institutional, cultural, and systemic impediments to progress have been revealed. The findings underline the significance of having a diverse educational workforce to foster inclusive and equitable educational experiences for students in schools in Qatar. They also emphasize the necessity for ongoing collaboration among stakeholders to achieve this goal. In response, legislative amendments, specialized recruitment strategies, professional development initiatives, and support systems are proposed to effectively address these challenges. Therefore, this research contributes to the scholarly discourse on diversity, inclusivity, and equity in education.

Research on the Relationship between Education Service Equalization and Regional Economic Development

This study delves into the correlation between education service equalization and regional economic development by examining the theories of public goods, educational equity, and regional economic development. It uncovers the theoretical foundations and the current practice in China. The research indicates that the equalization of education services significantly impacts regional economic development, with these effects showing regional variability. Through both theoretical and empirical analyses, the equalization of education services has proven pivotal in enhancing labor quality, accelerating talent mobility, strengthening regional innovation capability, and optimizing economic structures. While China has achieved certain accomplishments in advancing the equalization of education services, the issue of uneven distribution of educational resources among regions remains prominent. In light of this, governments should formulate differentiated education policies based on regional characteristics and strengthen inter-regional educational cooperation and exchanges, aiming to promote coordinated regional economic development through balanced educational advancement.

Spatial Distribution of Public Lower Secondary School and its Impact on Students’ Enrolment in Ogun Central Senatorial District Ogun State, Nigeria

Given the quest for universal basic education, the large enrolments in the Nigerian secondary educational institutions has resulted in the problem of over-crowded classes, shortage of teachers and shortages of classroom, which portend enormous challenges to the development of the educational sector in Ogun state. Using Ogun Central as a case study, the study identified the spatial pattern of the schools; analyzing students’ enrolment trends in the area, and identifying the factors associated with the observed pattern. Spatial analysis tool in ArcGIS was used to analyze both the spatial accessibility index and the students’ annual enrolment trend of the lower secondary school in the area. The result of the nearest neighbor analysis for the spatial pattern of lower secondary schools in the study revealed a random pattern. This pattern implies that the lower secondary schools are located far from one another, which indicates, that for students to attend the schools, most of them need to cover long distances. The spatial distribution of junior secondary school is influenced by socioeconomic status, environmental factors, demographic characteristics, transportation infrastructure, and geographic accessibility, which are key determinants of educational equity. Linear regression analysis was employed to identify trends and predict future enrollments of students. Further, the results of the trend analysis of enrolments of students in the zone from 2020 – 2023 reveal a negative trend. This implies a decrease in students’ enrolment as the year increases. The four years (2020 – 2023) annual trend of enrolments in the zone is represented by the negative trend y = -3180.3x + 99400. This result suggests that the students’ enrolments in the zone would gradually keep decreasing as time goes on if quick remedial actions are not taken. However, factors such as shortage of teachers, shortage of classrooms, COVID-19, insufficient infrastructural facilities and fuel subsidy removal could be responsible for the negative enrolment trend

Addressing the Sense of School Belonging Among All Students? A Systematic Literature Review

The sense of school belonging plays an important role in students’ academic, behavioural, and psychological outcomes. Based on a systematic review, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and examining 86 studies conducted between 1990 and February 2023, the article addresses two research questions: (a) what are the predictors of the sense of school belonging at the individual, micro, meso, exo, macro, and chrono levels of the bioecological model of human development; (b) do these predictors differ based on students’ individual characteristics, and if so, how. The findings reveal individual factors as important predictors of school belonging and indicate the lack of studies that take into consideration the interplay of different (micro, meso, exo, macro, chrono) levels in addressing the sense of school belonging. Considering the complexity and multi-factorial nature of the sense of school belonging, it calls upon further research, which would support the development of evidence-based interventions for fostering school belonging among different groups of students, particularly those who are at risk of feeling alienated from school, and thus promote equity in education.

Beyond intentions: Problematising policy-practice challenges for inclusive education and social justice in South Africa

This analysis critically examines inclusive education (IE) policies in South Africa within global frameworks. Drawing on Nancy Fraser's (2008) theory of social justice, which includes recognition, redistribution, and representation, the study explores the thinking and assumptions behind policymaking and how these affect the complexities of implementing IE-particularly regarding diverse student needs and identities. Furthermore, it analyses how the policies aspired to equitable resource allocation and democratic participation (representation) within schools. The study employs Bacchi's (2009) "What's the problem represented to be?" (WPR) approach to trace the evolution of policies for IE from Education White Paper 6 (Department of Education, 2001) to a recent assessment, the Department of Basic Education's progress report on inclusive education (Parliamentary Monitoring Group, 2023). By analysing underlying assumptions in these policies, the WPR approach helps expose the intended goals and their practical implications for schools. This work enriches the discourse on educational equity and social justice by illuminating the challenges of operationalising IE in diverse contexts. It further examines how policy assumptions, as framed by the WPR approach, can hinder or facilitate achieving genuine inclusion. By exploring these complexities, the study offers valuable insights for fostering inclusive educational environments that align with global aspirations while acknowledging unique South Africa realities.

Understanding faculty perspectives on health equity curriculum implementation in graduate medical education: a qualitative study.

Despite increased awareness of persistent healthcare disparities, integrating health equity education into medical residency curricula needs urgent expansion. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandates addressing healthcare disparities and social determinants of health, but implementation remains insufficient due to pervasive barriers. To explore residency faculty perspectives at one institution surrounding implementing a health equity curriculum within their programs. Between November 2022 and April 2023, qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with residency faculty participants (n = 13) from a large academic medical institution. Participants were recruited via an internal email list directory of program directors. Semi-structured sessions explored faculty perspectives on health equity curriculum implementation. Data analysis utilized template analysis and thematic coding. Faculty perceived barriers included limited time for teaching health equity, challenges in prioritizing health equity content within the curriculum, lack of formal training and expertise, discomfort in leading discussions, and institutional barriers such as resource allocation and lack of buy-in. Findings underscored the need for institutionally supported faculty development and protected learning time for health equity education. Despite participant recruitment and representation limitations, the study provides valuable insights for addressing curricular challenges. This study highlights critical areas for improving health equity curriculum implementation in graduate medical education. Addressing these faculty barriers can enhance resident competency in identifying and addressing healthcare disparities. The study received approval from the Thomas Jefferson Institutional Review Board (IRB #22E.762).

Diversity-responsive teacher educators in Flanders

ABSTRACT Higher education-based teacher educators are a unique group of practitioners: not only what they teach, but also how they teach is of instructional significance to students who want to become teachers themselves. Nonetheless, they are often overlooked in the research on inclusion, equity and social justice in education. This explorative study expands the knowledge base on teacher educators’ contribution to education that genuinely serves all students, here referred to as diversity-responsive education. Specifically, semi-structured interviews (n = 14) were conducted to pursue three objectives: (1) understanding perceptions of the concepts of diversity and approaching diversity; (2) mapping individual teacher educators’ practices to approach diversity; and (3) uncovering personal and contextual determinants for the implementation of diversity-responsive practices by teacher educators. Alongside its theoretical contribution, this study offers practical inspiration for practitioners, and both national and institutional policymakers operating in different regional contexts, guiding context-tailored professional development initiatives.

The Transformative Power of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Quality Education

This study explored the transformative potential of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal on Quality Education (SDG4), emphasizing its interconnectedness with the other SDGs. A proprietary algorithm and cocitation network analysis were used to identify and analyze the network of SDG features in GAI research publications (n = 1501). By examining GAI’s implications for ten SDG4 targets, the findings advocate for a collaborative, ethical approach to integrating GAI, emphasizing policy and practice developments that ensure that technological advancements align with the overarching goals of SDG4. The results highlight the multifaceted impact of GAI on the SDGs. First, this paper outlines a framework that leverages GAI to enhance educational equity, quality, and lifelong learning opportunities. By highlighting the synergy between GAI and the SDGs, such as reducing inequalities (SDG10) and promoting gender equality (SDG5), this study underscores the need for an integrated approach to utilizing GAI. Moreover, it advocates for personalized learning, equitable technology access, adherence to ethical AI principles, and fostering global citizenship, proposing a strategic alignment of GAI applications with the broader SDG agenda. Next, the results highlight that GAI introduces significant challenges, including ethical concerns, data privacy, and the risk of exacerbating the digital divide. Overall, our findings underscore the critical role of policy reforms and innovative practices in navigating the challenges and harnessing the opportunities presented by GAI in education, thereby contributing to a comprehensive discourse on technology’s role in advancing global education and sustainable development.

Research on Equity in Early Childhood Education in Western China: A Case Study of Sichuan Province

Abstract: This article investigates the issue of equity in early childhood education in Western China through interviews with ten kindergarten principals from the region. The study reveals several factors impacting educational fairness, including a vague understanding of the concept of educational equity, a lack of equitable practices in education, and the inability to ensure equal educational opportunities. Furthermore, the region faces a severe shortage of early childhood educational resources, instability within the teaching staff, difficulty in maintaining educational quality, and a lack of communication and cooperation among kindergartens. These issues contribute significantly to the imbalance of educational opportunities, severely affecting the normal development of children and the overall quality of preschool education. To address these challenges, the article recommends enhancing policy support to improve resource allocation and optimization, increasing professional training and compensation for teachers to strengthen the practice of equity in education, and raising societal awareness about the importance of educational equity. These measures are crucial for promoting equitable and high-quality education for every child in Western China, ensuring that all children have access to equal and quality educational opportunities.

Research on the Equity of Higher Education in China from the Perspective of Public Finance

Equity in higher education is an important content of social equity, as well as an extension of social equity in the field of higher education and a crucial approach to achieving social equity. Ensuring fairness in higher education is not only necessary for adhering to the scientific development concept and implementing the people-oriented governance concept, but also a momentous cornerstone for building a socialist harmonious society. This article introduces the background and significance of the issue of fairness in higher education. Through its manifestations, empirical analysis is used to analyze the basic theories of public finance. Then based on the analysis of the total amount, structure, and allocation methods of financial investment in higher education, important factors affecting equity in higher education are explored, in order to address the existing phenomenon of education inequality in China, afterwards propose policy recommendations to promote educational equity from the perspective of public finance.

The Issues and Optimization Strategies in the Modernization of Vocational Education in the Era of Chat GPT

The emergence of Chat GPT technology represents a significant breakthrough in natural language processing, revolutionizing human-machine interaction and presenting profound challenges to vocational education modernization in China. In the Chat GPT era, vocational education undergoes transformative changes, including personalized learning reaching new heights, big data-driven intelligent decision-making entering a new phase, and the integration of education resources on unprecedented scales. However, this modernization effort also encounters several critical issues, such as overreliance on technology and the associated risks of unemployment, threats to data privacy and security, erosion of ethical values, and the widening digital divide in education. To ensure the high-quality development of vocational education modernization with the support of artificial intelligence tools like Chat GPT, it is crucial to enhance supervision and regulation of Chat GPT technology applications, promoting its safe and responsible use. Moreover, prioritizing technology ethics and moral education becomes imperative to nurture students’ ethical awareness and moral compass in the utilization and development of technology. Lastly, optimizing the distribution of digital educational resources is essential to promote educational equity and bridge the digital divide among students.

Reaching gender equity in the classroom

The present study explores the impact of the choice of language in tests for girls’ academic performance at monolingual primary and secondary schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. For that purpose, students in grades 3, 6, and 10 (140 girls and 139 boys) from schools in rural Senegal were given a test consisting of three mathematics problem-solving tasks. They were randomly divided into an experimental group if they received the test in a local language, their mother tongue (Sereer for grades 3 and 6, and Joola for grade 10), and into a control group if they received the test in French, the unique language of instruction in the traditional Senegalese public education system. The findings suggest that using a local language familiar to students may contribute to girls’ attainment at school: Girls in the experimental group in grades 3, 6 and 10 outperformed girls in the control group, therefore narrowing the existing gender gap in education. The present study also explores the application of Cummins’ (1979, 2009) theories of language acquisition: The data shows that girls might take advantage of bilingual education systems that promote the transfer of language skills and knowledge. The results presented in this paper show the benefit of introducing local languages familiar to students in the education system of Senegal and other Sub-Saharan countries where only a European language is employed as the language of instruction, especially for girls, by improving their academic performance and contributing to gender equity in education.

"Re-thinking equity: the need for a multidimensional approach in evaluating educational equity through TIMSS data"

BackgroundIn recent years, data derived from international large-scale assessments have significantly influenced the discourse surrounding educational equity. However, the use of such data has often neglected the full spectrum of dimensions that equity encompasses, while being limited to exploring the relationship between achievement variations and student background. This approach, however, constrains our understanding of the rich notion.MethodsThis paper aims to contribute to the advancement of current research by advocating for an alternative approach that encompasses all relevant dimensions of equity and examines their impact on both achievement and motivational outcomes. A cluster analysis manifests itself as the designated method to employ, as the concept of equity remains theoretically challenged and the detection of data patterns can serve as a strong step in its multifaceted inquiry. Moreover, this method enables us to incorporate the multidimensional concept in a country-level context.ResultsEmploying data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study at grade four, this paper presents five distinct clusters of educational systems that illustrate diverse equity configurations. Notably, none of the identified clusters consistently scores high or low on all equity dimensions. This suggests that all of the clusters perform inconsistently to different degrees across the dimensions of equity. Furthermore, no single cluster emerges as superior to the others across both outcome measures.ConclusionsThese findings shed light on the intricate interplay between equity, achievement, and motivation within the examined educational systems. The unique configuration of the equity dimensions within each cluster underscores the importance of adopting a nuanced evaluation of equity, which can enhance our understanding of equity patterns.

Interplay among Language and Home Variables in Lebanese Students’ Science TIMSS Performance: A Linguistic and Economic Capital Perspective

AbstractIn Lebanon, science is taught in an international language (French or English) based on a language-in-education policy rooted in Lebanon’s colonial history. Given the intersection among social/socioeconomic class, educational equity, and science performance, learning science in a language other than one’s own raises concerns around economically-marginalized students’ opportunities for quality science education and their development of science understandings and discourse. Bourdieu’s lens of cultural and linguistic capital was utilized to better understand the interplay among socioeconomic status and science performance. Specifically, we examined how different home context variables (including language) influence Lebanese learners’ science performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessment. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), we looked at how students performed in science based on how often they spoke the language of the test at home and other home variables such as parents’ education level. The findings indicate that language and various economic and home variables were significantly associated with science performance. Language had a differing effect for English and French tracks, whereby parents’ education level and other home variables emerged more significantly for French track students. Our study underscores the importance of preparing and supporting science teachers for equitable, asset-oriented, and linguistically responsive teaching that enhances diverse learners’ equitable participation and opportunities in the science classroom.

Building Social Justice-oriented Resilience for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education: Propositions from Hong Kong

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) rhetoric and initiatives are gaining attention in Asian higher education. Yet, these are still underexplored in terms of their potential to bring about cohesive campus climates. As higher education institutions admit students from diverse backgrounds, there is room for examining how DEI might be leveraged to support growing student learning needs, particularly in contexts where cultural diversity is not the norm. Using Hong Kong as an example, this paper probes the genesis of DEI initiatives and sources of deficit thinking in higher education with reference to the experiences of ethnic minority (EM) students. It proposes a conceptualization of resilience theory from a social justice lens to counter deficit thinking and racism, which helps locate DEI initiatives in building culturally inclusive environments.

The problem of educational choice in senior secondary education: the ACT as a case study

AbstractHow students select subjects and pathways in senior secondary education and beyond has long been regarded as a significant social justice issue as a result of contention regarding the value of more or less academic and vocational options. This paper examines these issues through a discussion of the notion of educational choice and the history of senior secondary reform in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), an educational system established in the 1970s with the express purpose of enhancing educational equity through supporting student choice and flexibility through school-based curriculum and assessment. The paper highlights the complexity of questions subsumed under the umbrella of educational choice, which encompass not only the reproduction of inequality but also student agency and self-making and intersect with debates about equity and curriculum form. It shows how the intent of the ACT system to ensure equally valued subject choices in schooling has since its inception existed in constant tension with a parallel emphasis on university pathways and that the system has over time evolved from one dedicated to the idea of curriculum diversity and responding to individual and community needs to one in which centralisation and standardisation are beginning to take precedence. This history raises important questions about the equity implications of centralising and decentralising curriculum forms and what they enable and constrain in shaping young people’s futures.

The mutual shaping mechanism between new quality productive forces and educational equity

The relationship between new-quality productivity and educational equity is characterized by close mutual influence and co-evolution. Driven by technological innovation, new-quality productivity is profoundly transforming the economic and social landscape. Educational equity, a crucial component of social justice, is vital for ensuring equal development opportunities for all individuals. The robust growth of new-quality productivity not only optimizes the distribution of educational resources and enhances educational quality but also poses new challenges and demands for equity in education. In turn, the continuous advancement of educational equity provides a solid talent foundation and a conducive environment for innovation to new-quality productivity. These two aspects intertwine and progress together in various domains, including policy systems, cultural values, and educational practices. This interplay highlights the central role of new-quality productivity and educational equity in societal development, while also demonstrating their dynamic and complementary relationship.

Learning Object Repository Systems and Their Use in Greek Education

The article explores how modern information and communication technologies (ICT) enhance educational quality, emphasizing the importance of pedagogically sound applications to address the limitations of traditional educational systems. While ICT offers considerable benefits, such as increased engagement and support for collaborative learning, the integration of these technologies in education presents challenges, including disparities in access and shifts in learning methodologies. The concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) is highlighted as a transformative approach, allowing for the creation and sharing of diverse learning materials, which are crucial for promoting accessibility and equity in education. Additionally, the article discusses organizational development issues that schools face when implementing ICT, such as the need for adaptive school cultures, leadership support, and the alignment of school policies with ICT goals. It also presents examples of digital repositories and open educational resources, like Project Gutenberg, ERIC, and MIT OpenCourseWare, which provide free access to educational materials. In Greece, national projects have introduced digital literacy into the school community, with repositories such as Photodentro LOR and Helios, supporting the country's commitment to digital education aligned with the European Digital Agenda.

Cultivating equity through storytelling in higher education

ABSTRACT Using Brookfield’s model of reflection, this manuscript examined the relationship between equity and storytelling in higher education through the self, student, peer, and literature lenses. Specifically, it explored how the narratives of historically marginalized and underrepresented students might cultivate equity within academic institutions. The practical application section includes a sample student story and a thematic application. Furthermore, student storytelling templates, limitations, considerations, implications, and recommendations for future research within higher education institutions are included.

Exploration of Excellence and Equity in Education for Exceptional Talent

Exploration of Excellence and Equity in Education for Exceptional Talent