Issues of Equality and Diversity Essay Example for Free

Issues of Equality and Diversity Essay Equality is about learners’ rights to attend and participate, regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation and age. Therefore it is extremely important to identify any barriers to learning that may arise. To promote inclusion, at the point of initial assessment, the learner needs to disclose any disabilities that may make it difficult for them to access the course. Once these needs have been identified, the teacher needs to consider effective strategies or identify appropriate resources which would support the student, for example, a visually impaired student may need worksheets written in Braille, a hearing impaired student may need the use of a hearing loop. The teacher too must ensure that their own attitudes and beliefs do not discriminate in any way and so understand, as Gavells states,P18 â€Å"All learners are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. Everyone is an individual, with different experiences, abilities and needs. As a teacher, you need to take this into account when teaching and ensure you give equal support to all your learners without favouritism.† The teacher needs to establish good rapport and equal opportunities by showing respect. Diversity is about valuing the differences in people. To ensure that all different students feel secure in their learning environment, it is important that at the start of the course the teacher establishes ground rules which explicitly state that all students will respect the points of view of others thus ensuring all students are valued. The teacher also needs to enforce these rules consistently. Inclusion may also be promoted by an understanding of different learning styles –visual, aural and kinaesthetic (Fleming 1987). The teacher may identify that different students prefer to learn in a particular way, for example a kinaesthetic learner likes physical activities but may not like reading, therefore the teacher can personalise the teaching to incorporate more physical activities to ensure that the learner is fully engaged and included in the lessons. This may need the teacher to adapt activities within the Scheme of Work to ensure that a range of activities meet the learning styles within the group of students. Geoff Petty P.560 lists further strategies which can promote inclusive learning which include motivating individual students with tasks they value, using inclusive questioning methods such as assertive questioning, ensuring feedback is constructive and set challenging tasks. Finally, all learners are individuals and for effective inclusion the teacher needs to listen to his students and reflect on their experiences. At the end of the course the students may complete evaluation sheets and these will allow the teacher to reflect on the learners experiences and identify strengths of the course and areas which need to be modified to improve the learning for future students. Bibliography Petty, G.(2009) Teaching Today 4th Edition Nelson Thornes Gravells,A. (2008) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector 3rd Edition Learning matters