Gaps in the ideal of equality of opportunity in education
equality of opportunity is an ambiguous concept. To remove its ambiguity, the chapter identifies three gaps that need filling: equality among whom, opportunities for what, and when in people’s lives. Gap 1 is among whom should opportunities be equal. The main response explored is that opportunities...
| Autor: | |
|---|---|
| Formato: | capítulo de livro |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universidad Autónoma de Madrid |
| Repositorio: | Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/718826 |
| Acesso em linha: | http://hdl.handle.net/10486/718826 https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55897-9_26 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | equality of opportunity educational justice level playing field parental partiality positional goods affirmative action relational equality meritocracy Derecho |
| Resumo: | equality of opportunity is an ambiguous concept. To remove its ambiguity, the chapter identifies three gaps that need filling: equality among whom, opportunities for what, and when in people’s lives. Gap 1 is among whom should opportunities be equal. The main response explored is that opportunities should be equal among the similarly talented, regardless of their socioeconomic background. The chapter examines four reasons in its support. It explains why the so-called formal equality of opportunity, consisting of the principles of non-discrimination and merit, is important but incomplete. Real or effective equality of opportunity also requires a level playing field. This egalitarian claim finds a limit in the family: the chapter mentions various reasons for respecting certain parental prerogatives over children’s education despite their inegalitarian effects. Gap 2 of the ideal of equality of opportunity is its currency: what are opportunities for? The chapter offers some guidance to respond. It considers a key distinction between positional and non-positional goods of education. Gap 3 is when in life opportunities should be equal. One response is that people should enjoy equal opportunities at the point in life from which they are held responsible for their choices. Nonetheless, the chapter offers some reasons to mitigate the cumulative effects of past choices and to secure adequate opportunities throughout people’s lives. Finally, the chapter warns of the risk of hiding behind equality of opportunity to whitewash or legitimize an unduly competitive society. Reasons against such competitiveness are explained, and ways to reduce it are suggested |
|---|