Fair Equality of Educational Opportunity Can Require Levelling Down

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Challenging Liberalism (Table 3)

Abstract

My aim is to contribute to our understanding of egalitarian theories of educational justice. My focus is on a broadly liberal account of educational justice--namely, fair equality of educational opportunity. The main thesis for which I argue is that fair equality of educational opportunity can sometimes require levelling down--i.e., making some worse off and none better off. That thesis is significant because it has been widely assumed that fair equality of educational opportunity cannot ever require levelling down, and that fact has been thought to be among its theoretical advantages. I conclude by noting the broader significance of my arguments for future work on educational justice.

Author

• David O'Brien, University of Wisconsin - Madison