Figure 1: Educational Equity Definition from National Equity Project

Even amidst the heightened scrutiny of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in education today, educators have a moral and ethical obligation to provide nurturing and supportive educational spaces for all learners. We understand that the past shapes the present, and “a truly democratic education must not be ideologically neutral” (Stewart, 2017). Therefore, educators must recognize the ways in which the legacy of historical and sociopolitical barriers continue to impact our students’ educational opportunities today (Outlaw, 2014). Simply focusing on diversity and inclusion is not enough to interrupt the unequal outcomes that persist due to contemporary systemic issues (Stewart, 2017). It is through the lens of equity that we are able to redesign and redistribute our support to meet the diverse needs of our learners.

An equity-centered practice is an important aspect of transformative learning, beginning with knowing the unique individuals that we serve. In Chapter 2 of “New Learning”, Kalantzis and Cope (2012b) write, “effective learning will not occur unless the professional educator finds a way” to get to know and respect the identities of their learners. The authors further define these socio-cultural categories to include “material (class, local and family), corporeal (age, race, sex and sexuality, and physical and mental characteristics) and symbolic (culture, language, gender, family, affinity and persona).” All of these attributes play a role in shaping the different funds of knowledge that learners bring to their learning communities as well as the ways in which learners engage in meaning making and meaning giving. Understanding these learner differences is how we honor the complexities of humanity and commit to learner-centered, asset-based practices (Moll et al., p. 134). Furthermore, these commitments prioritize building relationships of trust, respect and collaboration as foundational for creating the conditions for learners to thrive.

A deep understanding of identity and how it shapes one’s worldview is a non-negotiable for educators. This paves the path to developing a critical consciousness of the design of our world and is what fuels an equity mindset. Absent of this awareness leads to even well-intentioned supporters of DEI to unknowingly uphold and reinforce patterns of hierarchy and inequality. Ladson-Billings (2006) posits that through an equity lens educators are better equipped to reframe educational disparities as “education debts” (results from a system of inequality) rather than “education gaps” (outcomes based on a deficit ideology). In the video, Equity In Education: Teachers Have to Believe, educator Ken Patterson candidly states, “If you don’t really believe that [all children] can succeed, then let’s not talk about equity first” (2017).