Initial responses include thinking about all students, equal opportunities for all students, and equal access to course work for all students. Probing further, I ask what all students and the term equal means. The discussion usually becomes more entangled as participants debate whether there is a difference between equal and equitable. For some, equitable means the same practices, while for others the emphasis is that the practices are fair for each student. Although workshop participants cannot agree on a definition of equity, they usually agree that their behaviors and actions are equitable.
Current research reveals the very different ways educators treat groups of students.
When I present these and other research findings, educators are often surprised, question their accuracy, and assume that the research is not relevant to what is happening at their school. Workshop participants may say that they treat every student the same, but further questioning typically reveals that they mean they treat students fairly. For example, one participant commented that a system of grouping or tracking students is necessary because the potential MIT student and the potential bagger at a local grocery store cannot be taught in the same class. The justification for tracking reveals how core beliefs result in schoolwide policies and procedures. At first educators may not see the potential conflicts in their stated beliefs.