Knowledge, Justice, and Equity

This chapter explores how systemic differences across schools in Australia contribute to equality or inequality in Indigenous students' learning opportunities, specifically access to the school curriculum needed to progress to university. Equitable access to the academic curriculum is particularly important for Indigenous students because they are impacted by a range of issues affecting school completion, achievement, and university participation. This research focuses on one aspect of the key transition from school to university, examining whether Indigenous students experience a greater range of challenges in gaining the prerequisite requirements for university study than other students of similar circumstances. In exploring these issues, the authors adopt a position of curricular and epistemic justice, arguing that “doing justice” with power-marginalized learners involves changing the basis for thinking about the nature of knowledge and how knowledge is valued.

Remote Schooling Supports for Linguistically Diverse Parents of Students With Disabilities

Remote schooling has increased in prevalence. Although remote schooling may feel novel, remote and online educational requirements have been consistent parts of the educational landscape for years. Remote schooling increases learning opportunities within the home, magnifying the need for home-school collaborations to support the academic and socio-emotional development of marginalized learners in urban settings, particularly multiply marginalized learners such as students classified as English learners who also have a high incidence disabilities (e.g., learning disability, speech and language impairment, autism spectrum disorder). Much policy and practice around remote schooling centers on ensuring students have access to devices and technology; little consideration is given to what happens after devices are distributed, especially within culturally and linguistically diverse households. This paper explores considerations to be made before, during, and after engaging in remote schooling, whether it’s for short- or long-term use, to ensure that students who are dually classified are not digitally excluded during remote schooling.

Cultural and linguistic struggles and solidarities of Emirati learners in online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented shifts in higher education worldwide, with some nations more adversely affected than others. Since the onset of the crisis, almost all education abruptly moved to ‘emergency remote teaching and learning’. While the United Arab Emirates has been praised for its swift and effective responses, unique cultural and linguistic dynamics in this region present additional challenges for teaching and learning. This article presents empirical data from a qualitative phenomenological case study investigating female Emirati university students’ ( n = 69) perspectives on the use of video cameras and microphones in online classes. Students’ reflective writing and researcher observations in autumn 2020 revealed discomfort using video cameras and microphones due to a range of cultural and linguistic factors. Such factors include Islamic beliefs relating to modesty, home as a gendered space, noise considerations, concerns about privacy, struggles with language in their English-medium instruction university and fear of judgement from peers. Data are interpreted thematically using intersectionality together with Goffman’s theories of everyday interaction, stigma and relative deprivation, through which complexities of learner identities are explored. Practical suggestions are made on ways to adapt online learning to better suit the cultural and sociolinguistic realities of periphery and Global South contexts. It is argued that greater efforts need to be made toward inclusion of marginalized learners during the COVID-19 period.

Impact of Covid-19 on Teaching and Learning in Africa Assessed by the Education Unions

The study investigated the situation and views of the Education International (EI) member unions in Africa regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. The EI, a global body of education unions with over 32.5 million members in 384 unions across 178 countries in the world, is a critical global education stakeholder. It commissioned this study to obtain evidence to inform its policies about the pandemic. The primary data are based on the opinions of union leaders from 58 education unions in 34 African countries who responded to a semi-structured online questionnaire, while additionally, thirteen union leaders across the African countries and the Chief Regional Coordinator of the EI Africa Region were interviewed. The findings revealed a massive disruption of education, exacerbated educational inequalities, teachers’ poor digital skills and lack of infrastructure, and increased vulnerability of the marginalized learners shut out of school. Recommendations were made for EI, African Union and Governments.

The Rule of Law for the Right to Inclusive Education in Indonesia

Indonesia is committed to guarantee the right to education for all citizens without exception. The commitment of Indonesia to Education for All (EFA) leads to the fulfillment of inclusive education policies. The people of Indonesia tend to understand inclusive education as education for people with disabilities. On the other hand, inclusive education has a broader meaning, which does not refer only to special education. Furthermore, it also covers education with special services. The essence of inclusive education is to remove barriers that limit all marginalized learners, to respect diversity and needs, to create patterns of education without discrimination, and ultimately to achieve quality education. People’s understanding leads to questions about inclusive education in legal context, as well as the rules of inclusive education in Indonesia. This paper contains a qualitative study with a historical-doctrinal approach. The study aims to explain the right to inclusive education listed in the rules and regulations in Indonesia and their problems. From the normative point of view, the rules on inclusive education are regulated in the Law Number 8 of 2016 on Persons with Disabilities and the Regulation of the Minister of National Education Number 70 of 2009. Furthermore, the rules of inclusive education can also be found in several other regulations implicitly. Most of the rules have stipulated provisions that include the right to education. Therefore, the Government appears to be progressively realizing the respect, protection, and fulfillment of the right to education, including inclusive education, for all people of Indonesia.

To Be or Not to Be Decolonized: A Medicine Wheel Healing Education Model

Colonization has created a sea of troubles for Aboriginal learners through Eurocentric practices and principles that have marginalized learners resulting in lower educational attainment levels. The best reconciliation approach would be to decolonize classrooms so non-traditional learners who fail in mainstream classrooms can excel. This qualitative case study of a high school, mainly consisting of Aboriginal students, presents a medicine wheel healing education model that has decolonized and indigenized the classrooms resulting in improved educational outcomes, increased credit completion, attendance, and graduation rates. More important, students felt pride and improved self-esteem to be Aboriginal. The teaching style emulated traditional Aboriginal teaching by being hands-on, experiential, wholistic, personal, cooperative, flexible, and self-paced while incorporating Aboriginal culture and knowledge into the curriculum.