Inequality in the Classroom

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The issue of inequality seems to be evident in our classrooms nowadays. It is said that although everyone, regardless of race or religion, have been given equal oppurtunities, the outcome is still imbalanced. Researchers say that this could be due to either biological destiny (/innate intelligence superiority) or cultural depravation (/cultural superiority). This essay will reflect my views on innate intelligence and cultural superiority in explaining group differences as well as other explanation accounting for inequalities in outcomes among groups.

A contributing factor which brings about the issue of inequality would be if there are stereotypical views on groups of people who are distinguished by their supposed "innate intelligence" or "cultural superiority."

It has been held in conviction that there are "inter-group differences in intelligence", where people from certain groups perform better than those in other groups due to their intrinsic superiority. For example, some may hold on to the belief that females are naturally smarter than males. They see more females succeeding academically as compared to males. Even in some tertiary instituitions, only 3 out of 10 of its students are males. This popular misconception would result in biased treatment among gender groups in the classroom. Teachers would value the opinions of the girls more than they would the boys, under the assumption that girls are more intune to academic concepts as compared to boys. Or teachers would focus more on boys than girls, in a hope to develop their intellectual ability. Either way, one of the gender group would feel as though they were not given enough opportunity by the teacher to develop to the full potential.

Another example which illu...

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...dies. This different priority approach would also contribute to an inconsistent outcome.

Other factors affecting the inequality of outcomes are also social factors. The influence they receive from peers as well as the mass media play a role in determing the outcome of a child's academic success. Teenagers especially tend to place precedence on social success over their academic success, bringing about the imbalance in outcome when looking at the academic chort as a whole.

It would not be possible to pin-point what exactly is the cause for an inequality in outcome that exist in our education system. And although we are aware of the group differences and probably have our preferences, I belief that its our reponsibility, as educators, to uphold the professional intergrity in ensuring that our students receive the guidance and nurturing to the best of our ability.

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