Interrogating Equity and Excellence

Abstract

This chapter interrogates the concepts of equity and excellence within the social, political and economic contexts of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We argue that when educational inequality, international test results, and a lack of academic rigour are presented as measures driving reform, a proposed new administration system, curriculum text, or assessment model, almost overnight, is hotly debated not only in parliamentary debates, but also in workplaces, homes, and in the media. We note that the reforms demand at one time, ‘education for all’ and, at another time, ‘educational excellence’. When a new reform is advocated and introduced, the pendulum of the moment swings between equity and excellence.