Monaliza Maximo CHIAN, Jeremy NG, Lily LEI, Andrew Pau HOANG
The terms “equity” and “diversity” are ever-present in discussions related to providing socially just education for all, with multiple definitions and conceptualisations. In education, equity emerges from critiques of the term equality, which emphasises providing the same resources, opportunities and treatment to all students. Contrastingly, equity emphasises the redistribution of common goods due to historical and structural inequalities of condition, “to create systems and schools that share a greater likelihood of being equal” (de los Santos et al., 2020, p. 2). In other words, whereas equality aims to give students the same supports with the assumption that they can be equally successful, equity aims to ensure students will be successful by providing them supports in response to their diverse needs. “Diversity”, however, is situationally and contextually defined. Generally, it encompasses the various characteristics, identities and interactions that exist within classrooms, schools and communities (OECD, 2018).
Equity for diversity embraces students’ diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, recognising the benefits these differences bring to learning communities (Forghani-Arani et al., 2019). Promoting and sustaining equity for diversity thus requires understanding past and current diversity issues, and critical reflection upon one’s own values, perspectives, and practices. This can support educators to systematically leverage the depth and dynamics of diverse learning communities, identifying appropriate resources and opportunities to meet students’ needs. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of adapting educational equity issues to changing learning conditions. For example, shifts to remote/online learning have laid bare the necessity of ensuring that every student has equitable access to digital tools, digital literacy, and technical learning supports.
Below are some relevant and timely school examples, internet resources, and scholarly contributions that raise issues, considerations, challenges as we rethink and re-envision ways to design, create, and research learning opportunities and teaching processes to provide equitable resources and opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students.
References
OECD. (2018). Equity in Education: Breaking Down Barriers to Social Mobility, PISA, OECD.

Highly-Cited Academic Articles (Based on analysed results from Web of Science)
Internet Resources
YouTube Videos
Dr. Sherri. (2014, April 5). Strategies for teaching culturally diverse students.
GEM Report UNESCO. (2020, June 23). Inclusion and education: All means all animation.
Websites
American Consortium for Equity in Education.
OECD. (n.d.). Equity in education – Strengthening educational opportunities.
The Center for Learning Equity.
Articles Published in/about the Region
School Examples
Aberdeen Technical School. (n.d.). Student development and support. (Chinese only)
Hong Kong Taoist Association Wun Tsuen School. (n.d.). Learning and support.
Salesians of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary School. (n.d.). Learning and teaching. (Chinese only)
HKU Hub
HKU Faculty of Education - Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education (CAISE).
HKU Faculty of Social Sciences. (n.d.). Jockey Club Lab for cultural diversity study.
Extended Readings
Handover Research. (2017). Closing the gap: Creating equity in the classroom.
OECD. (2018). Equity in Education: Breaking Down Barriers to Social Mobility, PISA, OECD.
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