What is Educational Equity?
Equity refers to the practice of providing people from underserved communities the specific resources they need to be successful. Historically, educational practices and policies have treated all students the same (i.e., equal) through curriculum and instructions. However, research shows mainstream curricula and instructional practices often do not align with the lived experiences of Black, Latino/a/x, and other historically-underserved students.
For example, some of the most popular college textbooks do not include much content
on systemic discrimination, a problem many Black and Latino/a/x students encounter
on a daily basis. Also, the positive societal contributions of marginalized people
are often missing in popular textbooks.
Additionally, college teaching is largely dependent on a “banking model” in which
instructors attempt to transmit (or “bank”) content knowledge through teaching practices
that position students as passive learners. Coupled this with a curriculum that is
not relevant to historically-underserved students, college instructors run the risk
of disengaging their most resilient, but vulnerable students.
Despite the long-standing struggle for educational equity, there are educators who have been able to cultivate academic success among their Black, Latino/a/x, and low-income students. Here are four steps instructors can take to start transforming their teaching practices.