Promoting Equality And Diversity In Education

1. Write a reflection on how your promotion of equality and diversity helped create a safe and enabling learning environment for your learners during your teaching practice.

2. Reflecting on your practice, write a brief report on the impact you believe you made on your school’s Equality and Diversity agenda. 

Creating a Safe Learning Environment for Learners through Promotion of Equality and Diversity

I always love to create an environment which promotes equality and diversity to create a safe environment for my learners during my teaching practice. I am committed to treating that every student is equal beyond any race, religion and ethnicity. I promote to establish equality which does not fall under any specific or universal rule; rather it is a sensitive issue. This helps to recognise all biases and absorbs stereotypes. Learners should develop respect for everyone irrespective of background. They are conscious about choosing their language which is used to demean and to lower self-respect. My suggestions to the students are always to make them know best practice to avoid sensitive terminology. This helps to grow sense in every learner in respect of their teaching which makes them more comfortable with the environment of learning. They are now more confident, more informed about their past cultural histories. I introduce a general discussion class for a short period of time to convey that every learner has the ability to achieve success beyond cultural background. The learners are more aware about feelings and hesitation of some group that we have a stereotype idea predisposed in our mind (Fine-Davis & Faas, 2014). I prefer to ensure security to one and all learners of any group as I know that this protective mentality actually sends wrong signal in their mind. It is the general tendency of the learners to stop expressing in case he or she faces any criticism with biased view. The role of free environment adds value to the students’ performance when they feel equality in treatment. Learners can reflect a discipline in library, cafeteria and this broader view would spread in society as well. These learners now know that this equality is important to live in a diverse society. To establish equality and diversity in classroom, all the teaching materials are now moderated by the experts of the subjects through introduction of visual and auditory elements. Resources are now chosen to eliminate inequality to foster diversity. Course contents and assignments are reviewed considering multiple factors promoting applicability and acceptability to the students as per current scenario. Behaviour of most learners has changed mind set and now they have knowledge of background and their skills. They do not show preference or ignorance now. Being a trainee teacher I should promote the concept of equality in diversity amongst the students so that each learner should possess proper way of thinking about others and they should check and make correction by themselves to ensure inclusion of every learner in the classroom (Petty, 2014).  

1. I teach every learner in such manner that they should grow the feeling of equality that in all aspect beyond any race, ethnicity and gender by my presentation.
2. I teach them to consider equality in diversity without biased views by posing examples from history.
3. I tell my learners to abstain from using offensive languages with penalising measure.
4. I have moulded the course content to promote equality in diversity.
5. I used to give assignment that is specific to lower inequality in a diverse society. 

Impact of Promoting Equality and Diversity on a School's Agenda

Rule for classroom

1. Never use any discriminatory language
2. Support every learner
3. Never point out mentioning one’s race
4. Never bully anyone
5. Never abuse anyone
6. Read history and cultural diversity
7. Never show arrogance
8. Accept others as they are
9. Never treat with biased views
10. Never be stereotype(Virginia, 2016). 

 As a measure of ensuring equality in diversity I have appointed the Equality and Diversity coordinator in my school. His job is to ensure that different effective measures are to be taken to make the students understand the role of equality in broader sense in perspective of society. To facilitate this process, I would like to introduce some guidelines which can help to coordinator to establish equality in diversity. I would also like to review of the course content with necessary amendments to promote the concept of equality in diversity. Moreover, I would love to make the students of different ethnicity aware about cultural background that will help to create promoting equality. 

I have appointed the Equality and Diversity coordinator in my school. There are three agencies to promote Equality and Diversity agenda in my school. I need to work with them to establish equality and diversity among learners. I would distribute agencies in different field. The agencies are Equality and Human Rights Commission, Hastings and Rother Rainbow Alliance and Skills Funding Agency, UK (Amber-initiatives, 2016).

Equality and Human Rights Commission will ensure equality for the disabled personalities of the society. In my class, the disabled students are to be facilitated by the agency through their different level of involvement to ensure escalation of skills of the disabled. They will assist the equality and diversity coordinator by their different technical knowledge through which the class of people with disability can perform their work and feel the sense of equality in their daily life. Moreover this agency is engaged in diversified activities like primary education resources which can enhance the scope introducing equality in diversity amongst the students. (Commission, 2017)

HRAA will ensure equality within the diverse type of people through the objective of the organization to promote equality of treatment to the core sector of target audience like lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual by eliminating the discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation by raising the feeling of awareness through spreading education amongst them to ensure promotion of activities to make the people of diverse habits or orientation so far sexual concern to make them part of the society. Through the activities of HRAA the provision of raising voice within the voluntary and statutory sector as per the social needs of the communities and working for development of social outlets through training and information services for the LGBT communities to ensure proper respect to their citizenship. These efforts will ensure the feeling equality amongst the LGBT community with continuous impact. (Alliance, 2017)

Strategies for Promoting Equality and Diversity in the Classroom

Skill Funding Agency is working on the minority group consisting of Black, Asian and Minority ethnic group or BAME. Their objective is to raise the proportion of apprentices of that community to 20% by 2020 in UK. This agency can facilitate the feeling of equality amongst the said communities through provision of proper training and thus can ensure the diversified community to feel their sense of equality in the society. (Agency, 2017) 

A school can change the stagnant mentality by changing attitude of learners and teaching stuffs by introduction of different practical steps to ensure feeling of equality which may include promotion of apprenticeship to the students of different ethnicity, generalised recruitment policy to ensure equality or convening community day events of different communities to ensure enhancement of equality feeling amongst the stakeholders of the school. (Det, 2016).

I never miss any situation that is vital for promoting equality in diversity. Every situation is an opportunity to make sensitivity spreading across learners.

I always pointed out comments and behaviour while teaching in classroom. Sometimes I applied this theory even in compound or even in stuff room.

I always love to speak about stereotype assumptions, biased views, and awareness of cross cultural society.

I like to speak about students’ background to let everyone know about all.

I teach about inclusiveness in my classroom with examples of different societies.

I write some rules that should be followed and implemented in all classes. There is a guide book which I introduced in my school to make awareness.

I always offer a range of different fruitful strategies to all of my colleagues.

I use to include quotes from different literature written for minority groups.

I use to manage any unpleasant hot moments in my classroom. I always try to turn serious issues in discussions into a case study in positive attitude. My vibes help learners a lot in promoting equality in diversity. 

I always support my learners as well as my colleagues to help in promoting equality in my school. I always would like to take challenges and care for instant assistance to help out any abuse or argument. It would make me very active with subsequent faith and trust of the stakeholders on my decisions and subsequent judgement. But people do mistake sometimes and I am not an exception. In August, last year, there was a student of vitiligo with printed skin. He was from south Asia. All other learners used to call him ‘Spotted Dear’. This is derogatory and with abusing tendency definitely. That young chap used to come and complain about this. I was not so serious initially and suggested him not to react for everything. But one day, one of Local learner came with bruises in his back and told that vitiligo guy beat him with an iron rod after bullying. I was shocked and felt ashamed not being so serious in that case.

Establishing Rules for Ensuring Equality and Diversity

Another incident was also much unexpected and makes me repentant. There was a transgender learner in my class few years ago. Most people have heteronormative approach and a biased thinking about transgender. Before I would make my learners aware, that learner was abused in front of me. I think I could have handled these cases in a better way.  

I believe I establish all possible ways to ensure Equality and Diversity agenda in my school. The school now rarely faces any inequality case. There are very few hot arguments in school campuses regarding biased views. Teachers also are very sensitive and responsive. They are not stereotype about class, ethnicity, religion or race. Everyone is interested in inclusiveness of every learner without hesitation. If there are some issues, they contact me, discuss and have an instant solution. The most changing thing is study materials which supports equality and diversity. I think people do mistake when people do not have clear idea about ethnicity, race and class or groups. In my opinion, I have seen that knowledge can make a huge change in mentality. I always give emphasis to create awareness about history and geography of our people through which people can accept everyone without biasness. I would never criticize my learners or anyone for not educated. It is our duty to create such atmosphere that makes people sensitive, and my school turned into an institution where least cases need my vigilance to ensure equality. My school has got award from UK Educational Department for least cases of inequality. It has come in every Newspaper for this applauding behaviour and I am proud that I could have created such environment in my classroom as well as in my school.   

References: 

Agency, E.a.S.F., 2017. Skill Funding Agency. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/education-and-skills-funding-agency [Accessed 06 Nov 2017].

Alliance, H.a.R.R., 2017. Hastings and Rother Rainbow Alliance Consortium. [Online] Available at: https://www.lgbtconsortium.org.uk/directory/hastings-and-rother-rainbow-alliance [Accessed 06 Nov 2017].

Amber-initiatives, 2016. Addressing Diversity and Equality in classroom. [Online] Available at: https://www.amber-initiatives.co.uk/Trainings_Diversity_and%20_Equality.html [Accessed 25 August 2017].

Commission, E.a.H.R., 2017. Equlity and Human Rights Commission Home Page. [Online] Available at: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en [Accessed 6th nov 2017].

Det, 2016. Equity and diversity. [Online] Available at: https://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/navigation/human-resources/equity-and-diversity/ [Accessed 25 August 2017].

Fine-Davis, M. & Faas, D., 2014. Equality and Diversity in the Classroom: A Comparison of Students’ and Teachers’ Attitudes in Six European Countries. Social Indicators Research, 119(3), pp.1319-34.

Petty, L., 2014. How to Promote Equality & Diversity in the Classroom. [Online] Available at: https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/classroom-equality-diversity/ [Accessed 25 August 2017].

Usc, 2017. Designing culturally inclusive classrooms. [Online] Available at: https://www.usc.edu.au/connect/work-at-usc/staff/cultural-diversity-and-inclusive-practice-toolkit/designing-culturally-inclusive-classrooms [Accessed 25 August 2017].

Vic, 2017. Learning and Teaching Resources. [Online] Available at: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/Pages/multilearnteach.aspx [Accessed 25 August 2017].

Virginia, 2016. Teaching To Promote Gender Equality. [Online] Available at: https://cte.virginia.edu/resources/teaching-a-diverse-student-body-practical-strategies-for-enhancing-our-students-learning/gender-dynamics-in-the-classroom/teaching-to-promote-gender-equality/ [Accessed 25 August 2017].