Conceptualization and application of the concept of equity by elementary school teachers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate how 27 elementary school teachers conceptualize equity, social equality, and social justice, how they apply the notion of equity in a fictitious situation that involves statistical knowledge. The teachers were invited to complete an online sociodemographic questionnaire and an instrument with questions about equity, social equality, and social justice, as well as to answer questions about statistical concepts including mean, median, and mode. The results reveal three types of responses to the definition of the investigated concepts: broad responses that do not make understanding explicitly, answers that touch on the concepts, seeking to contextualize them with challenges and problems; and answers that seek to conceptualize them in a specific and individual way. In relation to equity, the teachers draw attention to offering different opportunities, supporting those who need it and respecting learning rhythms, elements that are part of the principles of equity. However, other terms emerge, such as being fair, which does not refer to equity, but rather to equality. In the fictitious situation, decisions were based on the concept of justice, so that each teacher acted according to what they thought was fairest. These results point to difficulties in highlighting the differences between the concepts, which reinforces the need to broaden discussions about fairness in the school context. Due to the small sample size, further research on this subject is suggested.

Keywords: Equity; Mathematics Education; Social Justice; Statistical Concepts.