The equity imperative – equality for governance.

Yesterday saw the launch of my first session specifically designed for governors.  I’ve been a governor for a few years now, and have found it difficult to find a way to contribute the more specific expertise I have to strategic conversation. Therefore, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to create a tailored programme for governance that would give me a role and a purpose.

The overall aim of the session was to help my fellow governors gain more confidence in articulating the social impact of educational change. We explored the meaning of the following words used in conversations about equality and equity:

Individual victimisation: person to person prejudice, often based on unchallenged assumption or unconscious bias;

Systemic or institutional discrimination: unfair disadvantage created by procedure and internal barriers which leads to on-going hindrance for individuals from specific groups; 

Social inequality: local, cultural or community stories and/or representation about people from specific groups that feed assumptions mentioned above. These are generally widespread - also known as social narratives.

In a speedy introduction we talked about the impact of the landscape, media / narratives, on pupils belonging, progress and learning. I sought to explain the link between social advantage, marginalised groups and (dis)empowerment within the broader institution of education. The aim is to give us a vocabulary, a way of articulating specific ideas, in order to begin the hard conversations that may help support ways of tackling inequality. Ideally the two sessions should help us deal more confidently with in conversations about strategy, equity, direction and vision. Equality was explored through the lens of stereotypes and their impact on belief - the source of prejudice in behaviour and thought.

The point I made was not to over prescribe right words - see texts on political correctness (Chapman, 2013). But to be less accommodating of the negative ideas that go unnoticed about marginalised groups (euphemism-creep). Rather, I am pleased we begun to explore the different levels at which social oppression may deny the learning that leads to community life, personal resilience and democratic engagement.

“I just wanted to thank you for the training tonight.  It was incredibly interesting & thought provoking. We are certainly lucky to have someone with your expertise on our governing body!”     Assistant Principal