Equity, Justice, and Perceptions of Fairness

1. Equity, Justice, and Perceptions of Fairness Novice Teachers’ Conceptions of Fairness in Inclusion Classrooms Ruth A. Wiebe Berry (2008) By Cynthia J. Spence

2. Description of Study • Qualitative • Interpretivist Approach investigating the nature of teachers’ views regarding “fairness.” • Data set: 185 text units (journals) written by 47 participants (general education graduate students enrolled in six sections of a special education survey course).

3. General Education Teachers and Students With Disabilities • Teachers’ attitudes predict teachers’ behavior. • Teachers’ beliefs about fairness influence their beliefs about inclusion. • Teachers act in subtle, and not so subtle ways in reaction to their views regarding distributive justice, procedural Justice, and interactional Justice.

4. Distributive JusticeDefinition: The distribution of limited resources and capital. Common opinion holds that every individual should receive “their fair share” • Inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms is unfair to typically achieving students. • Inclusion makes unfair demands on general education teachers. “Fairness has been defined as the belief that it is morally wrong, in itself, to treat individuals differently without providing relevant reasons for so doing.” R. Barrow. (2001) Inclusion vs. fairness. Journal of Moral Education, 30, 235-242

5. Distributive Justice and Needs Based Principles • Needs-based principles of distributive justice are appropriate when the orientation is caring, and the well-being of individuals is of chief concern. • An appropriate education for children with disabilities (required by US federal law) need not be the best possible education. “Whereas Adam’s theory advocated the use of an equity rule to determine fairness, several other allocation rules have also been identified, such as equality and need” (Colquitt, 2001. p. 426).

6. Distributive Justice and Needs Based Principles • “Fairness,” with respect to inclusion means that all students receive the supports or instruction they need to achieve academically, not that all students receive the same supports or instruction.

7. Distributive Justice and Needs Based Principles • Problems arise when resources are scarce. • Some general education teachers may feel that the expectation to meet the educational needs of students with disabilities, in addition to those of typically achieving students, is excessive. • General education teachers must possess the beliefs, attitudes, skills, and dispositions that will enable them to be confident, effective teachers of students with widely varying abilities and achievement levels, including students with educational disabilities.

8. Procedural JusticeProcedural justice refers to the idea of fairness in the processes that resolve disputes and allocate resources • Provide teacher education programs to help teachers develop positive attitudes and dispositions necessary for teaching in inclusive contexts. • Reframe the situation as a “team effort.” • Provide teachers with information about and contact with students with disabilities. • Give teachers an opportunity to be heard before a decision is made. “Ensure that the opinions of various groups affected by the decision have been taken into account” (Colquitt, 2001. p. 426).

9. Interactional JusticeInterpersonal Justice: Reflects the degree to which people are treated with politeness, dignity, and respect by authorities.Informational Justice: Focuses on the explanations provided to people that convey information about why procedures were used in a certain way. (Colquitt, 2001, p. 427) • Focus on student similarities rather than differences. • Teachers should feel supported by their administration. • Colleagues should support one another for being knowledgeable and effective teachers.

10. Ruth A. Wiebe Berry • Academic Title: Assistant Professor • Department: Graduate School of Education • Department Website: http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/ • Institution: University at Buffalo, The State University of New York   Berry, R. W. (2006) Inclusion, Power, and Community: Teachers and Students Interpret the Language of Community in an Inclusion Classroom American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 43, No. 3, 489-529. Berry, R. W. (2006) Beyond Strategies: Teacher Beliefs and Writing Instruction in Two Primary Inclusion Classrooms Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 39, No. 1, 11-24