Equality and Diversity - Building a Culture of ... - Equality Authority

Who has the power to decide what supports
and resources can be made available?
groups of people, for example, crosscommunity
and cross-cultural relationships?
Equality is about relationship:
Does everyone have access to making a
diverse range of friends?
Is care work valued and respected in the
community and in society?
Is diversity explicitly recognised and named
in school anti-bullying policies?
Do schools and communities promote and
support good relations between diverse
Note
The equality/anti-discrimination legislation in
Ireland and Northern Ireland does not cover
every equality issue or theme. The legislation
is very specific about the individuals and
groups protected under the law. It also has a
very specific definition of discrimination and
it focuses on discrimination in the areas of
employment, and/or goods and services. (See
Part 4 Equality and the Law for details).
Teaching Controversial Issues
– a Note for Teachers
Teaching about equality and diversity
can potentially raise issues that may
be contentious or controversial. The
methodologies used throughout the resource
are designed to minimise the risks associated
with teaching controversial issues in a
classroom setting and to enable the issues
to be discussed in a way that is safe and
respectful of others. You may find it helpful to
incorporate the approaches below.
Creating a Conducive Climate – Class
Agreement or Ground Rules
It is normal practice in citizenship education
to spend time at the beginning of each year in
developing a class agreement or set of ground
rules which will underpin relationships and
behaviour in the classroom. Before commencing
this module, it is strongly advised that the
students review their agreement - in relation
to the underlying core values they espouse, as
well as the behaviours they expect of each other.
They should preferably reflect on how these core
values are implemented - for example, spend
some time unpacking what respect for the rights
of others really means and what it would look
like in practice in small group work, discussion
of any kind, and other situations.
Encouraging critical thinking and the
inclusion of a range of perspectives
It is recommended that, before you start, you
think through the positions or stances you
will take as you work through the module and
decide which position is the more appropriate
for you to take in any particular lesson:
be a neutral facilitator
declare where you stand on an issue
play devil’s advocate to provide a wider
perspective when the whole class is in
agreement
support a minority viewpoint among the
students to ensure the majority seriously
consider all aspects of an issue. You will find
that all of these positions are appropriate
or inappropriate at different times. When
in doubt, returning to your basic aims in
teaching the topic and to the fundamental
basis of human rights will help you decide.
Using Safe Methodologies
Pairs and small groups provide a safe
environment for students to engage fully with
discussion questions without having to publicly
state their position. Questions which are framed
within the context of what human rights or
the law says about an issue makes it safer for
students by depersonalising the discussion.
Asking what the government, the community,
the school, or an individual could do in response
to, for example, racism or homophobia, is a
much safer way to discuss these issues than
asking students ‘What would you do if...?
For further reading on approaches, frameworks
and methodologies, see Tackling Controversial
Issues in the Classroom. A Resource for Citizenship
Education (2012) published by the CDVEC
Curriculum Development Unit. It is available
from the CDU (address on back cover) or on-line
at www.reconciliation.ie
8 Introduction