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In this paper, we provide evidence on attitudes toward indirect past-in-present educational discrimination (i.e., educational discrimination that took place in the past but has a negative impact on the current employment opportunities of the discriminated against workers). We use an original vignette-based hypothetical survey experiment and collect data from a representative sample of the US population. We find that a significant majority of respondents support costly compensation for past educational discrimination. Moreover, we find that respondents are as sensitive to indirect past-in-present educational discrimination as they are to present-day employment discrimination. We point out that the causal effects on attitudes are stronger for the intentionality of discrimination than for its financial consequences for the discriminated group. Finally, attitudes appear to be driven more by respondents' political perspective than by their own actual identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if foreign-born academics employed in Poland and Slovakia have a sense of being marginalised in the global world of knowledge production, and, if so, what are the basic indicators of this marginalisation. The paper is based on 100 qualitative in-depth interviews conducted in Poland and 40 interviews conducted in Slovakia. All interviewees agreed that Poland and Slovakia were peripheries but they conceptualised their peripheral status in many distinctive ways. The paper discusses six indicators of peripheral status of Eastern Europe academic systems, referred to as 'status periphery', 'career periphery', 'workplace periphery', 'mental periphery', 'language periphery', and 'relational periphery'. The discussion focusses on how these two exemplary post-communist European peripheries differ from other academic peripheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assumption that students are differently talented often underlies the public and philosophical debate about the justice of school systems. It is striking that despite the centrality of the notion of 'talent' in these debates, the concept is hardly ever explicated. I will suggest two explications: First, philosophers who point to different talents often assume that these are somehow fixed potentials that pose limits to what someone can achieve. According to this understanding, no matter how hard someone tries, she simply cannot perform well due to a lack of talent. Second, talking about different talents can be understood as saying that two students who will receive the same amount of educational resources are nevertheless expected to perform differently in the future. In the public as well as the philosophical debate it is common to assume that educational prospects should be equalized when it comes to unequal social backgrounds, but not when it comes to unequal talents. In this paper, I put into question three reasons that could speak in favor of this assumption: the first refers to the connection between talents and limits, the second to the relation between talents and the transformation of resources and the last one to the idea that talents somehow go back to the person's true self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of ongoing discussions about how best to conceptualise, confront and ultimately eradicate racism, this paper seeks to critically examine the relevance of ‘post-racial’ thinking, both in a general sense, but also in relation to education. The argument is framed around a concern that multi-cultural, and to a lesser extent, anti-racist approaches have become hostage to the very same essentialising practices around ‘race’ thinking that they seek to challenge. This is best illustrated in the plethora of racial, ethnic, geographic, national and religious categories that are currently deployed my many educational institutions in the furtherance of ‘equality and diversity’ policy objectives. In setting out some of the underpinning ideas and controversies linked with the idea of ‘post-racial’, the paper offers some tentative suggestions as to how a ‘post-racial pedagogy’ could be manifested in pedagogical practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perception of Western governments' hostility to Islam is one of the indicating features of Islamic fundamentalism and, in some cases, is serving as a pull to join extremist groups. In this paper, using data from two waves of a cross‐national survey, we investigate what affects European Muslims' opinions about Western governments. We find that residential segregation is associated with perceived hostility of Western governments to Islam. Further, we find that Muslims living in segregated neighbourhoods and enclaves have a higher probability of believing that Western governments are hostile to Islam. National origins of Muslim immigrants have a significant impact, with people from African countries measuring less perceived hostility than others. We also find that education is associated with perceived hostility of Western governments to Islam in a non‐linear way. People with the highest and lowest levels of education tend to be less likely to believe that Western governments are hostile to Islam, relative to people with mid‐level education. This non‐linear effect is best explained by education's differential effects on perceptions of key world events. During the time between 2011 – before ISIS's announcement of its Caliphate in Iraq and Syria – and 2013, subsequent to that announcement, we see a sharp decrease in perception of Western governments' hostility to Islam, particularly among more educated European Muslims. We make the case that this decrease can be attributed, in some ways, to the emergence of ISIS. We discuss our findings in terms of theoretical and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, more and more people consider diversity as an opportunity and a strong resource which should be used appropriately as a basis for intercultural education seen as a key-factor, on the one hand for the stability of the society and its increased chances to be developed in a sustainable way, teaching us how to cohabit, and on the other hand for promoting equality, respect and openness towards communicating with others. In this respect, the actual school takes over and duplicates the socially validated practices that relate inclusively to the issues of interculturalism and discrimination, based on various criteria represented by gender, ethnicity, religion, level of development, social, cultural and economic status etc. Although there are education policies which obviously promote a series of principles concerning equal chances, irrespective of social origins, gender, age, ethnicity, religion etc., in reality, the education faces up - even nowadays - a series of segregationist and discriminatory practices. This paper aims to retrieve a part of primary and secondary teachers' opinions concerning the forms of discrimination which are present in schools and classes, but also their attitudes related to such discriminatory practices, being completed with several solutions for fighting and diminishing those undesirable behaviors. More, the results of the microresearch have in view to determine teachers to adopt a reflective attitude concerning sensitive issues related to the discriminatory practices still met in the Romanian schools. Additionally, some examples of good education practices on fighting and preventing of any type of discrimination are underlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to amalgamate recommendations from contemporary national reports on healthcare provision and needs of people with intellectual disabilities. The paper combines these with recommendations for undergraduate curricula of medical students from the GMC and Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych). Design/methodology/approach – National reports from Mencap, Department of Health, Disability rights commission, NHS Executive, the GMC and RCPsych were searched for relevant recommendations to undergraduate medical education in ID psychiatry. Recommendations were collated and grouped to form a single list for use when planning future curricula or auditing existing teaching. Findings – In total, 13 relevant recommendations were identified in nine groups. These included that people with intellectual disabilities and their carers should be involved in the teaching. That teaching should include the ethical, moral and legal obligations and should include the mental capacity act and equality act. Institutional and individual discrimination should be highlighted as a problem and diagnostic overshadowing should be covered. Originality/value – This paper has collated in a single document the combined recommendations of multiple reports. These are relevant to medical undergraduate teaching and may also be of use to other undergraduate healthcare courses. They are a useful template for others wishing to examine or benchmark the content of their medical undergraduate ID psychiatry teaching against an amalgamated list. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines forms of implicit discrimination towards Muslim children in children's discourses of Otherness. Findings in this paper draw on qualitative data exploring the discourses of 17 children from a Year 6 class in a culturally diverse primary school in the East of England. Building on Critical Race Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis, this article shows that children's discourses of Otherness acted in tacit discriminatory ways by constructing difference as problematic, which positioned Muslim children as the 'bad Other'. These findings show the intersectionality of discrimination experienced by Muslim children in school, and offer a reflection on the role of multiculturalism in schools and the limitations of uncritical discourses of tolerance in fostering an understanding of difference and Otherness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to examine the nature and extent of gender and spatial inequalities in educational attainment in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the education Gini coefficient, computed on the basis of years of schooling of individuals, to assess education inequality in Ghana. Findings – The paper finds evidence of gender and spatial inequality in education in Ghana. In particular, the three northern regions have lower education attainment as well as higher education Gini coefficients compared to the rest of the country. The paper finds evidence of intra-gender and intra-spatial inequalities in education attainment in Ghana, with females contributing proportionately more to the within-inequality component of the education Gini. The paper also finds a positive correlation between poverty incidence and education inequality. Research limitations/implications – The research finds a positive correlation between poverty incidence and education inequality but requires an econometric analysis to make inferences regarding causality. Practical implications – The findings call for the design and implementation of policies not only to address between-gender and spatial inequities in education in Ghana, but also to tackle within-gender and within-spatial inequalities. The positive correlation between poverty incidence and education inequality implies the need to create greater equity in educational opportunities across the country. Social implications – The need for changes in attitudes, values and cultural practices that put girls at a disadvantage when it comes to education. Originality/value – One important and new finding of the paper is the existence of intra-gender and intra-spatial inequalities in education attainment in Ghana, with females contributing proportionately more to the within-inequality component of the education Gini. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies ideas that emanate from the Global North, concerning neoliberalism and neoliberal governmentality, to the case of marketisation in South Africa. It also attends to the limits of Northern ideas that are both intellectual undertakings and policy manifestations. In the first part of the paper, we identify how rationales for school choice, many of which have been introduced in countries like England, the USA, and Australia, have also been introduced in post-apartheid South Africa. Despite the introduction of markets to address apartheid era racial segregation, we suggest that in South Africa marketisation operates as part of racial neoliberalism. In the second part of the paper we explore in more detail how neoliberal governmentality operates in relation to education policy more generally, and specifically in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kosovo's education system is divided along a Serb-Albanian line, with consequences for the non-Serb minorities. While Serb-Albanian relations have been researched and analyzed extensively, relations among non-Serb minority communities have typically been neglected. Although there are some studies addressing the treatment and rights of individual minority groups in Kosovo, there is very little written on the dynamics and relations those groups establish among themselves. This article uses education as the backdrop for analyzing the emerging inter-minority relations in Kosovo. The paper provides some background about minority education rights and the consequences of their partial implementation for those minority groups—i.e., the Kosovo Bosniaks and Turks—whose members opt to follow the Albanian (Kosovo) educational system. In addition, it offers insights into some of the economic and political considerations behind the decision of the Gorani community to endorse the Serbian educational system. Finally, I analyze the relations between the Goranis and Bosniaks that have been developing around education and language rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks an explanation for the persistent social phenomenon of segregated schooling in England whereby children from families with broadly the same characteristics of wealth, education and social networks are more likely to be educated together and therefore separate from children from more socially distant groups. The paper outlines the historical legacy and the current level of segregation in English schools. It considers explanations that focus on the effect of marketisation of education and finds these explanations limited. A deeper explanation in terms of the practices of more affluent and more highly educated parents is found to be more adequate but in need of amendment in its characterisation of collective action. The complementary practices of poorer parents with less education are highlighted. The way in which these class mechanisms operate in England at the present time is illustrated by considering the different ways in which segregation is generated in selective, faith and community schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper explores issues of the educational marginality of migrant children in urban settings in two cities in China. The numbers of urban migrants exceed 100 million and are growing as China modernizes. This is creating tensions between residents and recent arrivals who lack residential registration and access to public services. As a result, migrant children often attend informal, private and usually unregulated schools of low quality organized by their communities. These tend to reinforce social stratification and reproduce marginality across the generations. The paper argues that state failure to provide basic education risks a growing divide between urban residents and recent migrants that has social consequences that must be addressed to remove discriminatory practices and resolve potential conflicts between hosts and migrant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A glass ceiling for women still exists in academia after two decades of equal employment opportunity (EEO) legislation in Australia. There are complex factors that when combined make gender inequity in the higher education sector highly resistant to change. Using personal histories as a reflexive device, the paper makes explicit the embedded male patterns of behaviour in academia that operate beneath the façade of policies and rules put into place to counter inequity. In particular, the paper focuses on the cognitive dissonance individuals experience due to the disparity between formal organizational policies promoting equity, such as workload allocations, and perceptions of the unequal opportunities for women and men. Using social identity theory and the leader member exchange (LMX) framework, the daily experiences of three academic women are interpreted, the impediments to equality identified, and suggestions made for more fundamental change to gendered organizational structures within academia. The analysis of such behaviours shows that the traditional emphasis of EEO legislation on formal policies and procedures to bring about gender equity in academia needs to be accompanied by cultural change programs that make explicit and challenge behaviours that reproduce and reinforce male hegemony in academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to existing understandings of the impacts of education policy reform by drawing together analyses of state-level policy reforms; institutional responses to these; and day- to-day school- and classroom-level practises that constitute particular sorts of learners. The paper draws on data generated through a school ethnography, with detailed interview and observational data set alongside school- and state-level documentary evidence. The paper suggests that, in a marketized context marked by hegemonic individualism, practises of educational triage become both acceptable and necessary. A preliminary refinement of the notion of educational triage is offered, with such practises identified at bureaucratic, institutional, and classroom levels. In addition, the paper draws on the notion of subjectivation to demonstrate how intersecting discourses of ability and conduct are deployed in the constitution of ideal, acceptable and unacceptable learners—learner identities that are deployed and inscribed through practises of institutional and classroom triage. The paper concludes that deep connections exist between the macro- and meso-level impacts of marketization and the ongoing constitution of students as learners at the micro-level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International databases report high rates of adult literacy for Commonwealth Caribbean countries which create the impression that these countries do not have a literacy problem. This is despite the fact that local and regional research has consistently pointed up serious weaknesses in the literacy skills of nationals at all levels, including university students. This paper questions whether the reported high adult literacy rates really reflect the reality of the situation in Commonwealth Caribbean countries and it uses a case study of Guyana – the poorest and most underdeveloped of the English-speaking Caribbean – to support its case. The paper describes the methodology of the test used for measuring levels (high, moderate, low) of achievement in functional literacy of out-of-school youth (OSY) in three domains (document, prose, quantitative) where literacy and numeracy functions are typically found in the society. Special reference is made to differences in achievement in functional literacy according to gender and ethnicity. The main findings of the study are: that only 11% of the OSY achieve at a high level of functional literacy: that females tend to achieve at a higher level of functional literacy than males and that there are significant differences in the achievement of the OSY from the different ethnic groups. The findings suggest a much lower adult literacy rate for Guyana than is usually reported and underscore the fact that failure to report rates that more accurately represent the situation in Commonwealth Caribbean countries will prolong the absence of political will to address the social and economic issues which lie at the root of the literacy problem. In countries where their provision is weak, adult and continuing education programmes are needed to help the adult population to meet the changing demands of society for improved skills in literacy and numeracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dilemmas posed by the analysis of working class issues in education by professional sociologists. There are two central themes in the paper. First it suggests that the inequalities experienced in the education system by working class people has been colonised by middle class academics for their own professional purposes. This colonisation has been greatly facilitated by the nature of the scholastic context itself. To globalise one's point of view in academic writing requires both freedom from the urgency and necessity of survival, and intellectual legitimacy. Working class people lack both. The paper also suggests that working class people occupy a structurally contradictory role in relation to education: on the one hand, social mobility generally requires that they be well educated. Yet if they are to succeed in the education system they have to abandon certain features of their class background. They cease to be working class at least to some degree. Other oppressed or marginalised groups in education, do not lose their defining minority identity or status by being educated: an educated woman never ceases to be a woman, an educated black person never ceases to be black, and a physically disabled person who is educated never ceases to be disabled. The structural relationship between social class and education, is fundamentally different therefore to that of gender, race and ethnicity and this issue needs to be re-assessed in educational analysis. Finally, the paper suggests that the failure to incorporate a working class perspective on educational inequalities leads to the impoverishment of academic analysis as the interests of professional academics rather than working class people dominate the agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, there is a growing need for teacher awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences, what is often called culturally responsive teaching. This is why teacher education institutions are making significant efforts to require student teachers to enrol in courses that focus on understanding, tolerance and acceptance of differences in others. Determining beliefs of student teachers towards the diversity of pupils at the onset of their studies is critical for providing teacher education that more efficiently challenges implicit beliefs and biases. The main objective in this paper is therefore to determine the initial beliefs of student teachers concerning the Roma population, Europe’s largest ethnic minority. Research was conducted at the Faculty of Education at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the Teacher Training Faculty at the University of Belgrade in Serbia. The results of the study suggest that most student teachers are in favour of schooling Roma pupils in regular schools; however, most of them would not like to have them in their classes. Most student teachers are aware of the discrimination against Roma pupils in schools; however, they are not ready to engage in closer interactions with Roma families. The implications of these findings for teacher education programmes are subsequently discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Studies show adults' attitudes towards citizenship to be related to their educational level. It has been claimed that higher educated people more often possess 'good' citizenship values. However, only limited insight exists into how differences in citizenship attitudes between adolescents from various educational tracks develop over time. In this qualitative longitudinal study, we investigate the perspectives of adolescents from different educational tracks on aspects of citizenship. The results show that adolescents in higher tracks develop stronger political orientations with age and learn to focus more strictly on competition between perspectives and on formal procedures of decision-making. Those in the lower track remained rather uninterested in politics but stick to their emphasis on consensus and inclusiveness. Overall, our study shows that 'good' vs. 'bad' citizenship values do not simply coincide with educational level and provides a more nuanced insight into adolescent developmental trajectories towards citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian educational system has had, since the 1988's Constitution, the purpose of living in a democratic and plural society. Thus, it has as its main aim to recognize its diversity and cultural richness, searching for the necessary conditions to avoid all kinds of discrimination. It is in the school -exercised as a public dominium- that Brazilians first get confronted with the difference. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the inclusion of the Theme Transversality Cultural Plurality (parts of the National Curricular Parameter) is done. The school observed is located in the countryside of São Gabriel/RS County and most of its students are the children of the so called Sem Terra (landless people movement, known as MST). The research was based on bibliographical research, observation on pedagogical practice, research, documental analyses and interviews. The analyses of the data showed the necessity of an effective approach between public policies execution and the reality of the local pedagogical practices. So that the school can be a permanent unifying element which not only recognizes and values the diversity as an inseparable part of the student's identity and its life trajectories, but is also able to overcome discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of research on socioeconomic inequality in Bogota's secondary education (year 2009). The results show that socioeconomic student level is significantly associated both to educational access (public or private), and to educational quality (ranking in State test - ICFES). This demonstrates that in Bogotá not only does each social class study separately, but also that rich people have access to a better education than poor people. This situation of social segregation (apartheid) aggravates some of the already pervasive Colombian problems: lack social mobility, economic inequality and illegitimacy of the political system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three recent European Court of Human Rights cases of discrimination in education against Roma raise the question of what conditions must be present for parents to give 'meaningful' consent in decisions pertaining to their children and whether such consent can be meaningful when a fundamental freedom is at stake. The paper investigates the nature and limits of parental consent and makes the case for a 'threshold' above which respect for the dignity of the parents requires meaningful consent for any decision pertaining to their children and below which respect for the human rights of the child prohibits interference with the exercise of a right. Identifying the exact location of the threshold in any specific case requires local-level public deliberation; insisting that decisions meet those threshold conditions, and enforcing their recognition, is a job for the Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1977, the Chinese government reinstated the national unified college entrance exam enrollment system. As a part of this system, the government also implemented preferential policies on the enrollment of minorities that authorized the increase or decrease of exam scores and enrollment cutoff points; the policies were therefore seen as discriminatory. Although these policies were the expression of minorities' right to an education, some questioned their appropriateness. How did these policies affect minorities' educational rights? I address these topics in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traveller education takes place through family and community life regardless of formal school input. This paper defines the benefits or otherwise of education to support the social and economic mobility of Gypsy/Travellers. It outlines the background of the struggle against discrimination in education in the UK and the EU, and demonstrates how increasingly supportive legislation has made a slow and small rise in Gypsy/Traveller numbers in schools and other educational institutions. Research from Europe and the UK is used to show the endemic issues that illustrate Traveller resistance to 'mainstream' initiatives on their behalf throughout. However, the question consistently arises whether educational efforts are viewed by them as positive or are seen to fail because Travellers are doing what they always have done and still do, and that is taking control for themselves and choosing what specific educational opportunities on offer will benefit them. Finally, the way forward is seen to lie in ensuring that Gypsy/Traveller cultures are recognised and welcomed as a critical aspect of social capital which needs to be developed, shared and acknowledged, through its transparent inclusion in the process and outcomes of education and preparation for employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper focuses on the educational opportunities available to rural migrant children in Beijing. On the basis of fieldwork conducted in migrant communities in 2004–2005, I conclude that administrative and financial barriers, as well as discrimination, prevent migrant children from entering state schools. I discuss the quality of education available in unlicensed private schools, followed by an analysis of the possible reasons for the state''s exclusion of migrant children from state schools and its hostility to migrants’ self-provision of education. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

After the Second World War, education in advanced capitalist societies has been perceived as the main 'saviour' of the meritocratic ideal. In this paper I will investigate some of the implications of the lasting emphasis that has been placed upon education in Britain, in the pursuit of a more just and equal society. Initially, I will present two main strands of thought vis-a-vis meritocracy. I will then show how these different approaches have shaped the pertinent debate. The main line of reasoning will be that the 'meritocracy through education' discourse can potentially conceal inequalities and injustices in contemporary market-driven British society. This contention will be supported by evidence from social mobility research, which clearly indicates that the expansion of educational provision and the increase in educational qualifications of the past 60 years has done little to eliminate social class differences and associated privileges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the preferences for co-ethnic concentration among ethnic minorities in schools, one of the least known mechanisms of ethnic segregation. Using a survey carried out among Bangladeshi, Caribbean, Chinese, Indian and Pakistani people living in England and Wales, the paper indicates that both the proximity to the culture of origin and the perception of a context of discrimination are factors related to the preference for seeking a greater proportion of co-ethnics when choosing schools. The article also indicates that the preferences for co-ethnic concentration in schools seem to be independent from other processes of ethnic concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the political meanings of language in the USA, from the perspectives of both majority- and minority-language groups, and focuses especially on Mainstream US English, African-American Vernacular English, and Spanish. It briefly traces the history of language policy in US education and argues that because language serves as a proxy for race, power and identity, language policy alone is not sufficient to address exclusionary practices. As long as the issues underlying language are not addressed, the rhetoric of equal treatment and language policies based on such rhetoric will continue to be manipulated to serve an exclusionary agenda that reinforces traditional social hierarchies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no longer possible to blame the inequalities among schools in India on parents or on an absence of demand for schooling. ‘The demand,’ as this paper shows, ‘has never looked more promising’. There is ‘a new hunger for education’. This new demand highlights the continuing discrepancies between policy and provision all the more starkly. Ramachandran gives detailed comparisons of regions and of levels of provision across India. Huge classes and inadequately trained teachers may mean that investment, enthusiasm, demand and a hugely dynamic economy still leave a majority of children barely literate and with no hope of continuing beyond the most elementary level to vocational or academic courses which might genuinely alter their future prospects. The piece ends with some firmly prioritised proposals for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arabs in Israel are a heterogeneous but largely underprivileged minority with a history of disadvantage in several domains, including education and employment. In this paper, we document changes in their attainment of various educational levels across cohorts born from the mid-1920s to the 1970s. We make comparisons among different Arab religious groups, between men and women, and between Arabs and the majority Jewish populations in Israel. We find that over consecutive birth cohorts, substantial ethnic differences in educational attainment have narrowed at the lower levels of schooling, but have increased at higher levels. Moreover, the results indicate that the disadvantage of Muslim Arabs in terms of entry into and completion of high school can be accounted for only partially by differences in the social status of their parents and characteristics of their neighbourhoods. The findings suggest that long-term historical differences among groups and discriminatory practices towards Arabs are important factors in explanations of disparities in educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly the social, educational, cultural, linguistic, religious and racial diversity of South African society is finding expression within South African institutions of higher education. Consequently, ``diversity'', ``diversity issues'' and ``diversification'', have become part of the education debate and policy, and pose new challenges to South African tertiary institutions. Most institutions are attempting to respond to these challenges within the context of a transformation process which impacts on every aspect of academic life from student access and support, outreach programmes, staff recruitment and retention, to academic programme development, research, scholarship and the social and learning environment on campus. This paper looks at how South African higher education institutions have met these challenges. It highlights how the ideas, initiatives or practices around diversity have been appropriated and made part of the mainstream intellectual and academic discourses. It also investigates the social and epistemological conditions of possibility for meaningful scholarship and curriculum practices in addressing the challenges posed by social diversity on campuses. More specific questions in this regard include: What counts as knowledge in diversity scholarship? Who produces and disseminates it? Who accesses it or utilises it? What is its space in the curricula? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the agency/structure dichotomy that predominates in racism discourse is problematic because it obscures how racism is produced and resisted at the local sites of relations between individuals and between individuals and institutions. Racism permeates social relations, ensured by `knowledge' and guaranteed through self-regulation. Resistance to racism requires a recognition of racism's `local' character. As a result, educators, particularly in classrooms, play important roles in resistance-practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popular consensus in the field of education is that teachers consciously or unconsciously discriminate against pupils on the basis of social class, ethnicity and sex. However, in exploring the extent of bias in teachers' perceptions and treatment of pupils from different social groups, few studies have satisfactorily taken into account variation in pupils' conduct. More specifically, the research in this area has frequently failed to demonstrate whether teachers respond to some pupils more than others because of their social attributes or because of their behaviour. In this paper multivariate techniques were used to address this problem. The results of the analysis showed little evidence of social class or racial discrimination by teachers. It was, however, apparent that girls were significantly less likely to be punished than boys after differences in behaviour had been taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines changes in the dimensions and sources of educational inequality in Australia. Data from a sample of the urban population is used, and divided into three education (rather than birth or age) cohorts in order to assess the effects of educational expansion over time. The results show that there has been some decline in the effect of social background on years of basic schooling and total years of education, and some increase in the effects of ability. However, the impact of social background remains important, while gender differences in qualifications and tertiary attainments are mostly undiminished. This suggests that while basic schooling has become more meritocratic with the expansion of educational opportunities, higher attainments still reflect and perpetuate systematic inequalities within the broader society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]