EDUCATION INEQUALITY

Education inequality

Education Inequality

Introduction

Education and learning is an important part of an individual's life. These factors play immensely valuable role in the development of an individual and they also play their part in shaping the life of an individual. Education and opportunities to get education is the basic right of an individual. There are certain factors that give rise to the concept of inequality in the accessibility to educational opportunities. The aim of this paper is to talk about educational inequality, different factors on the basis of which educational inequality exist and last but not the least it tracks education inequality in two different genres.

Meaning of educational inequality

Studies about inequality in education have highlighted its different meanings. One can say that equality in education exists when all students have formally and legally have the same educational opportunities. When educational opportunities are accessible to all students, then the term that can be used to describe such distribution of educational opportunities would be the uniform distribution. A higher level of equality in the education system can be provided by guarantying equal access and by providing a similar educational program to all students. Finally, equality in education is most powerful when analyzing educational outcomes for students. Equality in terms of results means that a similar level of performance between students from different social classes cultures and sexes. If any differences influence greater or lesser extent in the educational progress of a student, it is expected to find differences between them due to their social origin. Only the leveling of social differences, a task that is not directly responsible for the education system, or the development of intervention strategies to prevent the incidence of social inequalities in education, will achieve a deeper egalitarian goal (Furedi 2001, 7).

In recent decades, interpretations of inequality in education have moved from a more deterministic, one-dimensional approach to a multidimensional and interactive approach. It is widely reported that the social and cultural differences of students affect their educational progress and their results. A report on students at risk of failure identifies seven predictors of low educational level. These seven predictors are social inequality, poverty, belonging to an ethnic minority or immigrant families without adequate housing, lack the majority language, school type, geographical location in which student live and lack of social support. There is no strict correspondence between social inequalities and inequalities in education. Other factors such as family, the functioning of the education system and the school that can increase or decrease these inequities are also very significant factors.

How inequality is prevalent in UK educational system

The family atmosphere and commitment to school have a definite impact on the educational progress of a student. Family resources, their education, work habits, orientation and academic support, cultural activities that take place at home, the books that are read at home by the family members, the stimulation to explore and discuss ideas and events and expectations about the level of studies that can reach children, are factors that have a major influence on ...