Have you ever felt you didn’t belong in a classroom? This is what equality and diversity in education seek to eliminate. Children learn better and become more active and confident, knowing they are seen, valued, and respected. What is truly necessary to build a classroom in which every learner thrives, and how will you become equipped to address this with a Level 3 AET?
What does Equality & Diversity mean in teaching?
Equality does not mean “equal treatment. It is the role of all students to support each pupil to achieve success by providing the appropriate tools to achieve this. Diversity is the ability to acknowledge and appreciate the differences that individuals bring (including their culture, background, learning style, life experience, etc.).
These two principles are used in conjunction with each other in teaching. In Teaching, the tutor who is aware and understands learner diversity is developing fair, flexible, and truly inclusive Teaching.
How the Level 3 AET Builds the Foundation
The Level 3 Award in Education and Training is directly related to equality and diversity and is not an additional ‘bolt-on’; it is part of all work done and learning experiences.
You’ll explore:
- Implementing policy within the classroom, e.g., Equality Act 2010.
- How much can you do in a session to meet the needs of various people?
- What to say and how to say it in an assertive, yet respectful fashion.
- How your values and assumptions impact your teaching practice
This is not merely a theoretical. It impacts your planning, your communication, and how you respond to a learner’s sense of a perceived lack of inclusion and/or marginalisation.
Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment
Know Your Learners
Make sure you get acquainted with your roommates before making plans! Description of what works based on age, background, disability, language, and learning preferences. The first step with inclusive teaching practices is to listen.
Adapt Your Resources
Not everything that is handed out is appropriate for everyone. Utilize a variety of texts, audio, visual, and hands-on activities. Little things can mean big things!
Use Inclusive Language
Words matter and avoid making assumptions and utilize “identity” language. It is a learning environment that begins with the words that we say, not those that we teach, first.
Immediately and appropriately deal with bias
Use assertive language, saying for example: “Stop” or “I don’t like that word. Be assertive and respond to any discriminatory statement, even if it’s a casual comment, with a calm, clear, and assertive response. Silence normalises it. Your reaction can have an influence on the entire group.
The connection Between Safeguarding and Inclusivity
Inclusivity and safeguarding are not separate; it’s the same. Individuals who feel excluded are at a higher risk of being vulnerable. The combined application of safeguarding and inclusiveness is about pupils being physically and emotionally safe to learn.
Knowing about equality and diversity also involves identifying a learner’s risk (either because they are discriminated against or through isolation, or because of a more serious situation at home).
Teaching Equality and Diversity Principles in Practice
The first step to understanding is definitely one thing. It’s one thing to understand, but quite another to know the principles. Another is helping them to teach and live in sessions.
Students’ perspectives can be invited, real-life scenarios can be considered, and case studies can be discussed and used based on a variety of life experiences. It does not involve lectures on equality and diversity; it’s about opening minds.
The unspoken, but probably heard message that learners will receive when they see diversity in your materials, as well as in your manner: you belong here.
Why This Matters Beyond the Qualification
At the end of the Level 3 AET, a qualification will be issued. Equality and diversity in teaching go hand in hand with an even greater power – the power to affect lives.
All learners who enter your session are carrying a story with them. Some have been told they are not smart enough, that they are not of the right type, that they are not welcome to formal learning. As a tutor, you should demonstrate that’s not the case. When you’re ready to take this step, explore all of the education and training programs and determine which one is right for you and your teaching career.
