Segregation: A Persisting Concern

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From the course by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Negotiating Learner Differences: Towards Productive Diversity in Learning

ratings

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Negotiating Learner Differences: Towards Productive Diversity in Learning

ratings

An investigation of the dimensions of learner diversity: material (class, locale), corporeal (age, race, sex and sexuality, and physical and mental characteristics) and symbolic (culture, language, gender, family, affinity and persona). Examines social-cultural theories of difference, as well as considering alternative responses to these differences in educational settings - ranging from broad, institutional responses to specific pedagogical responses within classes of students. The course also focuses on the application of learning technologies and new media to meet the needs of diverse populations of learners. Its main practical question is, how do we use educational technologies to create learning environments in which learning experiences can be customized and calibrated to meet the precise needs of particular learners? Topics include: universal design for learning, differentiated instruction systems, and adaptive and personalized learning environments.

From the lesson

Diversity in US Education and Differences in Theory

In this module, we examine some specifics of learner diversity in the US context, then some general concepts in a theory of learner differences.

Segregation: A Persisting Concern4:05

Desegregation vs Intergration6:02

Patterns of Desegregation9:11

Processes of Resegregation5:33

School Segregation and Educational Opportunities8:51

Segregation, Teacher Quality, Test Results and Social Mobility6:03

Meet the Instructors

Dr William Cope
Professor
Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, College of Education
Dr Mary Kalantzis
Professor
College of Education

One of the growing persisting problems but growing

also is the segregation that we have in schooling today.

There are lots of different implications of school and

residential segregation and that has implications for social cohesion in the US.

This is a particularly important era to be discussing this given the nature of

discussions in the past 12 months of social conflict that we've experienced.

So, I thought this opportunity to talk about and to visit on issues of segregation,

both residential and schooling segregation would be a timely kind of thing to talk about.

So, I'm going to examine some of the origins, evolution,

practice of segregation in the US pretty much broadly

conceived in the lens of schooling, but also residentially.

So, will look at it not only in the literal sense of separation,

but I think also in the cultural and evolving understanding

of race and ethnicity in the American consciousness.

I'm particularly concerned at what people learn and shouldn't

learn and what people learn and have a difficult time getting rid of,

unlearning so to speak.

So, I want to discuss the subtle and not so subtle barriers to

that sense of an American dream placed in front of Americans of color and how

the same faith in inequality of opportunity and

sacrosanct devotion to law and the dream attempted to abolish those obstacles.

So, that's the conversation I want to have.

So, why do we care about segregation in education or residential segregation?

I think there are four maybe five points that can be made here.

Six. Segregation is a threat to

the long persisting aspirations regarding equality of educational opportunity.

A continuing concern, a continuing problem.

So, what we have with segregation is a persisting concern that we are going

to be challenged to secure and protect

the constitutional and human rights of all citizens.

That's one. A second is a persisting concern about whether or not we can achieve

the improved learning outcomes and academic achievement that this effort to

desegregate schooling entailed preferably to integrate schooling.

A continuing and persisting concerned to secure

the improve intergroup relations that supposedly come from increased cross-race contact,

and a persisting concern to secure improved long-term benefits and

social mobility and work opportunities and an income.

Finally, a serious concern that we are having a real problem

in securing the social justice and democracy that we privilege in this society.

School segregation at it's core is an effort to

restrict and deny access to high quality educational resources.

Arguably, that means access to

a rich curriculum to teachers and to appropriate facilities.

It has enjoyed both a legal basis in the form of de

jure and as a social basis in the form of de facto segregation.

Despite many years of effort the data suggests we're still far from accomplishing

that goal of getting rid of segregation or limiting it's effects.

Indeed we may be more segregated in more harmful ways today.

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