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Over the years, the society have made us believe that the level of an individual’s educational attainment is a major determinant of the individual’s success and life opportunities. This same educational institution has been a major ingredient in the reproduction of inequality in our society. Beginning from the kindergarten level up to post-secondary level, students are accesses and placed in different categories based on their intellect and academic ability. According to Henry and Tator, (2009), this system of assessment and placement is one of the largest barriers to equity in the educational system. There are suggestions that the psychological assessment and placement of students are concealed with racial, cultural and linguistic biases. …show more content…
(p. 206). Inequality is continually socially reproduced because the whole education system serves the interests of the dominant class.
The school curriculum is highly concentrated in the history, literature, science, social studies, and geography of the dominant group while it ignores the perspectives of novelists and poets who reflects the history and experiences of the minorities. (Henry and Carol, 2009, p. 201). This structure of the curriculum is problematic because students from the racialized minority groups are denied the opportunity of having the complete knowledge of their history. An example is seen in the “Being Black in Canada” video that was shown in class. The first set of Black settlers and the roles they played in the early years of Canada is never included in the history of Canada teachings in schools. Most students, including myself were shocked to realize that African-Canadian actually played important roles (which is worthy to be termed “heroic”) in the building of western Canada. This realization brought about a new sense of purpose and willingness to do more …show more content…
academically. All students have aspirations and goals when they are about to enter into the school system. These goals and aspirations are either supported and encouraged or undermined and discouraged as time passed by their instructors’ personal values, their unquestioned assumptions and expectations, and the social and physical environment of the school which is known as the hidden curriculum (Henry and Carol, 2009, p. 201). For Asian students, instructors most times assume and expects them to be in the sciences department which leads to professional careers while Black students are often channeled towards vocational and low-level academic programs and sports. Hidden curriculum influences how student see themselves. They often conform to what the school authorities and fellow student expect of them and many may lose focus and drop their initial goals to opt for an easier one in order to be able to balance the pressure of meeting unrequested expectations and earning a diploma or degree at the end of it all. The experiences and expectations from students are different from each other depending on what social class they come from. Students from a working class family are faced with two choice: strive to succeed in their academics which may result in the abandonment of their own values and culture in order to assimilate into the school’s middle class values, or end up being a failure. Also, students from a lower class background go through tougher time in school. They are expected to be conversant with the curriculums of middle class values. They constantly need to confront the material inequalities created by unequal funding arrangements in order to succeed. On the other hand, students from a middle class or upper class require little effort to maintain their superior and advantaged position in the society. They have easy access to higher quality instruction which ensures the continuation of privilege and wealth for the elites. (Boundless, retrieved 2017). Personally, as a visible minority and lower class student, I spend all of my time studying or trying to catch up with due dates while working part time on the side in order to meet my material needs.
I sometimes consider it to be unfair working extra hard to compete with others when I’m already disadvantaged because of race and social class into which they are born into. Thinking back now, I realized I’ve suffered micro-aggressions1 within the campus community. Just to mention few of my micro insult and micro assault experiences. I can remember being asked by a male staff of the enrolment service how I was able to gain admission into the program I applied for without going through some sort of upgrading process. I asked him if it was something I needed to do but he told me I obviously don’t need it since I’ve been admitted already and all I had to do was to register for courses for the semester. He went ahead to say that it wasn’t common for him to see ‘people’ like me get into the university through a direct path therefore I must be a smart girl. I didn’t think much of the statement then and took it as a compliment but I have better understanding of what he was getting at now. And ever since, I realized I’ve had to prove myself and my academic ability especially in my smaller classes to both my instructors and fellow students (especially in group works) over the last three years. Except when the class is crowded and the seat availability is limited, it’s rare for me to have
someone sitting next to me in class and I’ve come to accept that I will most likely be by myself in big classes or public places around the campus. In conclusion, although educational institutions are meant to be pathways to better life opportunities, they also play the role of enforcing and promoting inequality within the society. NOTES 1) Micro-aggression – brief and commonplace verbal or behavioural indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicates hostile, derogatory or negative disregard towards a person. 2) Micro-insult – a level of rudeness or insensitivity towards a person based on race, culture or ideology 3) Micro-assault – an explicit racial derogations characterized by a verbal or nonverbal attack, meant to hurt the intended victim through name-calling, avoidant behaviour or purposeful discriminatory actions.
In school we are always taught about the lighter parts of Canadian History, but only until recently have Canadian students been taught about the darker parts of our history. Residential Schools were included in these dark parts of Canada’s history. In the 19th century, the Canadian government believed that Residential Schools were responsible for educating and caring for the country’s aboriginal people. The goal of these schools was to teach the aboriginal children about Christianity and Canadian customs, in hopes of them passing these practices on towards their own children and it would eventually be adopted into the aboriginal culture. The Canadian
First Nations are portrayed negatively in the media. In this article, the First Nations people are portrayed as just a lesson in history that everyone needs to be educated on. For instance, the article states, "100 per cent of Canadians understand the history, impact and legacy of residential schools"( “48% Of Non-Aboriginal Canadians Residential Schools Blame for Problems”). From the same article, the Aboriginal People are referred to having “special treatment” ; “In fact, of the 10 percent of respondents who said their impressions of Aboriginal people had worsened in the past
Race as a factor in inequity. Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995) posit that race continues to be a significant factor in determining inequity in the United States. Race matters in society. If we look at high school drop out, suspension, and incarceration rates of men of color in America we see a disproportionate amount of men of color marginalized and profiled by society. This is further compounded by the perception that male faculty of color cannot be educators or at least are not often conceptually visualized in that capacity (Bryan and Browder, 2013).
In the hopes of communicating to the Canadians, “who call themselves white,” what it means to possess whiteness, I will deconstruct how the child – me – in Figure 1 was trained to embody the, white, Canadian narrative of multiculturalism and citizenship (“On Being” 180). I will argue that the practice of teaching whiteness to other whites stems from a Canadian imaginary in which the white Canadians who “…imagine that history
Over the last two decades the Australian population has faced a number of economic instabilities that has seen the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ increase. To determine who the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ are an in-depth investigation will be performed examining the circumstances under which the gap can be manipulated. The economic wellbeing of individuals is largely determined by their command over economic resources (ABS, 2009). The wellbeing of individuals who are classified as ‘haves’ are usually people who are asset rich, contain bonds, shares and are fairly affluent. The wellbeing of individuals who are classified as ‘have nots’ are usually the working poor, who have little assets and little investments i.e. bonds. These individuals are usually middle income earners which are categorised as being in relative poverty. Relative poverty as defined by L. Kirkwood, I. Searle, T. Cronk, D. Cave and J. Swiericzuk as the situation of people whose income and lifestyle has fallen below, by more than a certain degree, the average income and lifestyle enjoyed by the rest of society.
Poverty is a serious issue in Canada needs to be addressed promptly. Poverty is not simply about the lack of money an individual has; it is much more than that. The World Bank Organization defines poverty by stating that, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time”. In Canada, 14.9 percent of Canada’s population has low income as Statistics Canada reports, which is roughly about two million of Canadians in poverty or on the verge of poverty. In addition, according to an UNICEF survey, 13.3 percent of Canadian children live in poverty. If the government had started to provide efficient support to help decrease the rates of poverty, this would not have been such a significant issue in Canada. Even though the issue of poverty has always been affecting countries regardless of the efforts being made to fight against it, the government of Canada still needs to take charge and try to bring the percentage of poverty down to ensure that Canada is a suitable place to live. Therefore, due to the lack of support and social assistance from the government, poverty has drastically increased in Canada.
Another reason for the pay discrepancy is that women are usually employed in low-wage occupations and industries, such as teaching. Even women working in the same industry, and having equal qualifications, earn less than their male counterparts — in fact, even top women executives earn considerably less, on average, compared to their male peers (Patel, 2016). The other reason for the gender pay gap is that more women than men work part-time jobs. According to the Canadian Women's Foundation (n. d), for the last 30 years until 2013, about 70% of part-time/temporary workers were women, which translated to 60% of minimum wage earners being women. Finally, the Canadian Women's Foundation (n. d) claims that approximately 10-15% of the wage gap is
In the article by Erica Neeganagwedgin she examines aboriginal education from pre contact, through the Residential Schools and concludes with contemporary issues in education, focusing on women in multiple sections. Neegangagwedgin argues how colonial education curriculum in Canadian schools are marginalizing and oppressing aboriginal students by rarely including their history, heritages and cultural antecedents therefore creating a ‘denial of the selfhood of aboriginal students” (p.28). She starts by comparing the pedagogy differences between Aboriginals and Eurocentric students the stem of differing worldviews which have created this problem as Canada denies to recognize the Aboriginal worldview as legitimate. Bringing light to the idea that
The achievement gap is defined as the disparity between the performance groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, ability and socio-economic status. The achievement gap can be observed through a variety of measures including standardized test scores, grade point averages, drop out rates, college enrollment and completion rates. The Black-White achievement gap is a critical issue in modern society’s education system. Although data surrounding the issue clearly indicates that the racial performance gap exists in areas of standardized tests, graduation rates, dropout rates, and enrollment in continuing education, the causative reasons for the gap are ambiguous—therefore presenting a significant challenge in regard to the most effective way to close the gap. The gap appears before children enter kindergarten and it persists into adulthood (Jencks 1998). Since 1970, the gap has decreased about 40 percent, but has steadily grown since. Theories suggest the Black-White achievement gap is created by a multitude of social, cultural, and economic factors as well as educational opportunities and/or learning experiences. Factors such as biased testing, discrimination by teachers, test anxiety among black students, disparities between blacks and whites in income or family structure, and genetic and cultural differences between blacks and whites have all been evaluated as explanations for the Black-White achievement gap (Farkas 2004). The research that follows will elaborate on these factors as they affect the decline in academic performance of black males—particularly the literacy achievement of black males.
Poverty is a significant threat to women’s equality. In Canada, more women live in poverty than men, and women’s experience of poverty can be harsher, and more prolonged. Women are often left to bear more burden of poverty, leading to ‘Feminization of poverty’. Through government policy women inequality has resulted in more women and children being left in poverty with no means of escaping. This paper will identify some key aspects of poverty for Canadian women. First, by identifying what poverty entails for Canadian women, and who is more likely to feel the brunt of it. Secondly the discussion of why women become more susceptible to poverty through government policy and programs. Followed by the effects that poverty on women plays in society. Lastly, how we can reduce these effects through social development and policy.
I believe that there is too much wealth and income inequality in the United States
Culture defines how people relate with their colleagues and the people outside their world (OECD, 2003). Culture has a central role when it comes to the way humans behave. In this case, the doctors must learn how the culture of the society inclines to a particular issue of interest to them (Phipps, 2003). Having learned that, they would be in a better position to handle the patient with professionalism and simultaneously involve them to drive out most of the medical information they may need. Another way is having a physician for a particular patient whom the patient can share the problem with after they have established a good rapport. In creating a serene environment for them to dispel fears that they may have, and by create an interactive atmosphere (OECD, 2003). Patients will engage the physician in talks that will be useful in disclosing the information needed for the diagnosis.
Educational systems are one of the primary foundations in the development of early childhood teachings and beliefs. “It has been argued that there is an essential relationship between students' culture and the way in which they acquire knowledge, manage and articulate information, and synthesize ideas.”(Barnhardt, 1999; Bell 2004; Kanu, 2005). Lessons taught to young school children are first fundamental steps in shaping their future ideas, opinions, thoughts and behaviors and how that influences how they view the world and those around them. One of the simplest ways to properly educate Canadians about the lives, history and accomplishments of Aboriginal people is through introducing Aboriginal history beginning in early childhood education. Children are the future; if they are given the proper education and tools to correctly inform future generations they hold the power to correct the impact that decades of stigmatization, marginalization, inequality, colonialism, and denial of responsibility has had on Aboriginal life and spirituality. In order to properly educate these children, educators too must be informed. Previously in Canada, Indigenous education was not discouraged but was also not a required mandate in the curriculum. Pa...
Gender inequality has been a huge challenge not only in Canada but around the world. Males are often looked at as superior to women. Men have dominated in history; they are our famous theorists and physicists, they won wars and conquered the land. Unfortunately, even in today 's society women are continuing to be viewed as inferior compared to men. Women have overcome many obstacles throughout history including; education, the workplace, and even at home. Women have the right to be treated equally because they ARE equal.
This article, dating back nearly seventeen years, attempts to unearth the continued issue of disparity between academic achievement amongst whites and non-whites. The article goes in great depth to discuss the issues of, higher frequency of occurrences of minorities in special education, the problems that exist related to academic disparities amongst upper middle class whites versus upper middle class non-whites, as well