Outmoded concepts of disadvantage must be rethought

Jan 19, 2025
Students raised up hands green chalk board in classroom.

It’s time to rid ourselves of the concepts of disadvantage and equity and immerse ourselves in the practices of learning and knowledge like never before.

I did not come from a disadvantaged family. It was however low-income, with my father working at the local milk factory and my mother working nightshift, part-time at the local woollen mill; both parents saw their work as dignified and important and places where lifelong friendships and understandings were made.

They were community minded, being well-known for their sporting and neighbourhood connections. We always had food on the table and my mother in particular, ensured that I always had a clean uniform to wear to school. We never had a car and I can only remember two holidays when we boarded the train for Melbourne to stay with my aunty and uncle for a week.

The regional town where we lived had a public library and separate children’s library that I frequented often. On a regular basis, I went with my mother to the news agency where she would add usually British magazines to her Agatha Christie library books and I would usually get British comics and stories of boarding school life. There was a small art gallery and a town hall that had occasional plays from visiting theatre companies and concerts by symphony orchestras from the big city. Best of all, was a sweeping ocean beach where I spent a lot of my time swimming and running all the year round. Why this should be considered as a disadvantaged upbringing, is beyond me!

In terms of income, we can think of approximately 10 percent or less of Australians living in poverty and approximately 10 percent living with wealthy comfort. I am using the word ‘poverty’ to refer to those who may be hungry, mal-nourished, ill and homeless, as distinct from those who receive an income of less than 50 percent of the median wage in Australia. The number of millionaires in Australia continues to increase. This means that approximately 80 percent of Australians are working people with a range of incomes from low to quite high in some cases.

It seems to me that in relation to education, outcomes for the 80 percent of children from working families should be reasonably close, provided that schooling arrangements are adequate, curriculum organisation is appropriate and pedagogy and assessment are accurate as far as learning is concerned; all of these are problematic under the economic and cultural ideology of neoliberalism that dominates the country and schooling. It seems strange that the profession should continue to accept that many students are disadvantaged – and therefore often seen as being deficient – based on family income and/or whether they belong to a particular social grouping. I reject this argument.

There is a conservative view that citizens should not be considered in different groups, but rather as individuals with their different talents and attractions. This may be a political view of course, in response to the propensity of ‘identity politics’ that currently exists. From my perspective, I see a great unity of the ordinary people of the world, with common histories, interests and aspirations and knowledgeability regarding the social and physical worlds. This is the divide between a sociological view and a philosophical or epistemological view regarding where ideas, learning and knowledge come from. It seems that an emphasis on market economics everywhere we look over the past 30-40 years has been very successful in swamping all other outlooks, including that which focuses on teaching, learning and knowledge from a community and personal viewpoint.

Family income does not determine human capability and not all people can be grouped together under different headings, when individuals exhibit different capabilities. This is the problem of induction, where the latest evidence can contradict what has been previously thought. Assumptions about the possible achievements of ‘equity’ groups is surely entirely disrespectful of each person and indeed, is completely ungracious in attitude towards fellow citizens. Education should dispense with such unworthy professional conduct.

I did not come from a disadvantaged family and certainly do not see my students as such from country schools, western suburbs, or particular ‘equity groups.’ Surely all students are interested in dinosaurs and frogs, humorous and unexpected language, the structure of molecules, musical and poetic ideas, painting a picture for mum, wondering about the movement of ants. These are epistemological issues about the nature of learning and knowledge, rather than sociological issues about the background of students. This is not a rigid distinction of course, with the sociological forming the context within which learning processes occur, but it is the epistemological framework that influences what happens in classrooms every day.

I have commented (for what seems decades) on the flaws in school mathematics and how it is of little surprise to me that families and students (and sometimes teachers) show a negative attitude; the lack of epistemological practice in school mathematics means that generations of children around the world have been effectively removed from this domain of human knowledge. And this, where the challenges of artificial intelligence to education have to be met by being better teachers than ever before.

It’s time to rid ourselves of the concepts of disadvantage and equity and immerse ourselves in the practices of learning and knowledge like never before.

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