Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) in primary education

According to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Playbook, ‘DEIJ refers to the work of making organisations places that value the presence of differences in identities, cultures, backgrounds, perspectives, and expectations. DEIJ work acknowledges that we do not all start from the same place and emphasises that we must strive to adjust to address those imbalances. This requires ensuring that processes and programmes are impartial, fair and provide equal possible outcomes for every individual. This work aims to ensure that people feel a sense of authentic belonging within organisations while at the same time focusing on the treatment of groups historically and systemically under-represented and under-served.’

What does this mean for primary schools?

Many of the issues that DEIJ raise can be extremely complex, upsetting and challenging to speak about, especially with young people. However, others suggest that the primary sector is the best place to start, to create a caring community that celebrates and respects people from all cultures, and to ensure that all children feel seen, heard and valued from a young age.

For schools to put this into practice, it is important that they:

Start by each reflecting on their own organisational values and recognise that implementing change to incorporate DEIJ needs to be a continual learning journey. For example, diversity in school can look very different, depending on the context of the school and the cultural capital of the children. It could be race, religion, culture, language, aspects of social life, amongst others, that creates this diversity.
Define differences and issues that need to be addressed before embarking on school-wide strategies. As the school’s demographics alter, it is vital that these strategies are reviewed and revised regularly, to reflect any changes.
Ensure the curriculum offers children the opportunity to study a broad and diverse range of people and places including those from different cultures and traditions.
Incorporate diverse people and places from the local community into the curriculum where possible. Provide opportunities to study and celebrate similarities and differences.
Ensure curriculum resources reflect a diverse range of people of different faiths and cultures so children can see themselves reflected in the materials they use for learning.
Provide opportunities for children to work, play and socialise with different groups in the school community to develop a sense of empathy, understanding and tolerance.
Promote unity, togetherness and humanity through assembly, collective worship and other whole school activities.

Inclusion for all

Schools have an important role in making education fully inclusive and accessible for all. School is the place where most children learn how to interact with others, including with those who look and act differently, as well providing them with a place where they can build their self-confidence and self-esteem. It is everyone’s responsibility within the school environment to ensure that every child feels included and valued. In turn, the school will see a rise in improved social skills, fewer absences and behavioural issues, and great tolerance, understanding and respect by the children, according to the Learning Hive,

‘If there’s one thing that will encourage inclusivity in education, it’s ensuring that all students feel valued. A big barrier students face is a lack of confidence and low self-esteem as a result of being excluded from certain situations. Schools can help to avoid this by encouraging students to raise their concerns and actually take the time to fix the issue by providing a resolution that makes the students feel they have been heard.’

What can schools do to ensure that they address DEIJ and provide a fully inclusive, accessible environment? After reflecting on their own organisational values and defining the issues they need to face, they can begin putting together a strategy. The K4D research helpdesk has provided a useful report for schools implementing inclusive education. They state,

‘Inclusive education is a continuous process of educational transformation, and a clear set of equity indicators – such as from UNESCO (2017) – can support inclusive education implementation. Measuring the success of inclusive education should go beyond merely counting students to evaluate access, but should include measures of educational quality, outcomes, and experiences. Understanding and evaluating teaching practices is also critically important. The Index for Inclusion toolkit, Supporting Effective Teaching project, and the Lao.’

Inclusive Education Project by Save the Children (Grimes, 2010) are particularly useful inclusive education assessment tools, but other indicator sets and tools are also available.

The barriers to inclusive education are well-understood now, and include inadequacies in policy and legal support, resources and facilities, specialised staff, teacher training, pedagogical techniques, flexible curricula, supportive leadership, and cultural attitudes. However, current thinking suggests that it is perhaps more useful to think about ways in which existing successful inclusive education practices can be identified and scaled up, rather than focusing attention on deficiencies.’

Summary

Incorporating DEIJ is rewarding, significant work. Although challenging work, it is necessary work for everyone in a school community. Dr Emily Meadows, LGBTQ+ Consultant for International Schools and CIS Affiliated Consultant, explains in her blog,

‘When we understand that, regardless of our identity and access to safety and belonging, we are part of pre-existing systems of inequity and we have a choice to be part of the solution, it allows us to move away from fear and division, and toward the collective action of community-wide belonging. We can correct toxic inequity to build safer systems of belonging, together.’

There are various organisations and publications that can support schools to developing their strategy and to create frameworks for addressing DEIJ, some of these are listed below.

How we help

We help schools to teach a broad and diverse curriculum which provides a wealth of opportunity for developing children’s cultural capital and a depth of understanding of other people, places and traditions. Why not book a discovery consultation using the button below?