Equality or Equity

Equality or Equity sets forth a compelling argument urging us to shift our understanding of the role of our education system from providing equal opportunity to building an equitable society. A leading scholar-practitioner and ardent proponent of culturally responsive forms of education, Jeffrey M. R. Duncan-Andrade aims to settle the debate over whether we should work toward a public education system built on the goal of equality, in which identical resources are provided for all students, or equity, in which different resources are offered in response to differences in student interests and needs. Duncan-Andrade centers his argument on the importance of creating meaningful education experiences for all students, particularly low-income students of color and immigrant students, who have gained relatively fewer benefits from decades of equality-focused education reform. Drawing on research from across a range of disciplines including neuroscience, social epidemiology, public health, and social work, Duncan-Andrade introduces three essential domains of a pedagogy that are both culturally and community responsive: relationships, relevance, and responsibility. Equality or Equity makes an urgent appeal for designing and implementing a truly equitable school system and shows us how we can begin to accomplish that goal. "For those who are frustrated with the status quo and who seek to play a role in educational equity, this book will be an incredibly valuable resource and a guide for how to use education to advance social justice in America today." --Pedro A. Noguera, Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California Jeffrey M. R. Duncan-Andrade is professor of Latina/o Studies and Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University. H. Richard Milner IV is Cornelius Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor of Education at Vanderbilt University, as well as the editor for the Race and Education Series.