Campus Review Volume 29 Issue 1 January 2019 | Seite 15

policy & reform
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all children are cultured, capable and
knowledgeable – and are not deficient in
relation to the school curriculum.
With this assumption of equality
for all children, schooling becomes a
process of working with the practices
of democracy and emancipation, not
projecting these as an ideal for some at
a future time. Open-ended practices of
authentic inquiry must therefore infuse
all subjects.
Humans are autonomous, creative and
democratic beings who make their way in
the world by resolving events and situations
as they occur. In social settings, they take
into account the views and advice of others
but, in the end, must judge, decide and act
for themselves to move forward. Equality
occurs on an individual basis and is not
imposed by the collective. Each person
comes to their own understanding of what
is real, for them.
Rancière’s encouragement takes us to a
form of schooling that does not distinguish
between children, or knowledge. It does
not concentrate on predetermined
explanations that must underpin
assessment and the grading of correctness.
Rancière notes explanation as the basis of
intellectual inequality: those who already
know explaining and sitting in judgement
on those who do not.
As a first step towards reconceptualising
equality and inequality in schools, I suggest
a much more detailed analysis of the
epistemological assumptions of mass
testing, and how grades of understanding
are allocated. I suggest that correlations
between grades and family income are
grossly inaccurate, given that statisticians
can correlate anything with anything else.
Much closer investigation of learning
within the 80 per cent majority is required.
It is difficult to see why children of this
grouping should exhibit considerable
difference in learning outcomes when
they are able to participate with all forms
of knowledge without prejudice, and
are respected for their own experience
of knowing.
It may be that society and the education
profession do not emphasise intellectual
equality, democracy and emancipation,
and for some reason are comfortable with
[The] education system
badly disadvantages legions
of children, whatever their
socioeconomic background.
not questioning any supposed relationship
between learning and socioeconomic
standing. But the paradox of current
conceptions of equity strengthening
inequality surely cannot be tolerated. ■
Dr Neil Hooley is an honorary fellow of the
College of Arts and Education, Victoria
University Melbourne.
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