Effective Use of Education to Challenge Discrimination and Social Injustice

Abstract

Education and access to employment can make a difference to one’s social stability, standing and ultimately their accumulation of wealth. Across the world, people from minority groups are often marginalised so are excluded from the opportunity to progress. Social exclusion appears to be a global epidemic which sees the rich increase and the poor get poorer in status and opportunity. Exclusion is endemic within society often initiated by education. Poor teaching, learning facilities, resources and low expectations can result in children opting out of learning or being excluded from education, which result in statistics that show disproportionate numbers of Black African in the UK and African American males in the US falling into this category. Like King, access and opportunities to attain the right type of qualifications that address needs in the labour market could create opportunities for people from lower socio-economic groups to improve their status; however a perpetual cycle of exclusion results from poor education which leads to poor access to employment. A question of whether poverty experienced by people of colour could be influenced by social engineering is a question that needs to be explored in addition to the vital role of government in implementing legislation and effecting change.