Addressing the issue of difference at school - [Master's thesis]

Difference has always existed, but perhaps not to the same extent as today. Spurred on by an unprecedented wind in France in 1789 with the advent of the Declaration of the Equality of Mankind, then reinforced by the globalization of common interests through the Brundtland report on sustainable development, notably the construction of more inclusive societies, it was to be expected that schools would adapt to these changes.

That's why the law on "Equal rights and opportunities, participation and citizenship for people with disabilities" (February 2005), and the 2013 law on "Orientation and programming for the refoundation of the school of the Republic", were set up to adapt the school to the needs of all. Pupils and teachers have had to come to terms with the presence of atypical new pupils, who need to be supported, especially on the teacher's side, if they are to succeed at school.

While it's true that the youngest pupils aren't really interested in difference of any kind, once they reach the age of reason, questions about difference arise, and sometimes pupils who aren't considered different are simply marginalized. Faced with this reality, how can the school, through the teacher, create a benevolent learning climate that facilitates student learning? A hostile environment can affect a student's school experience, even more so if he or she is facing physiological difficulties.

What's the difference?

Difference is one of those words whose definition is known to all, yet remains difficult to define. Fortunately, there are a number of standard definitions to settle the debate. According to the Centre national des ressources textuelles et lexicales (CNRTL), difference is a character which, as a result of comparison, distinguishes a being or thing from other persons or things. It is therefore something that is specific to each student, and can influence his or her ability to learn. In this way, the teacher's identification of each student's priority needs can facilitate the acquisition of knowledge.

Bearing in mind the types of socio-affective, cognitive and academic differences identified by Jean-Michel Zahkartchouk, Maslow's needs are closely linked to the sources of marginalization addressed by Robert Castel:

• poverty,
• unemployment
• addiction, emotional dependence and
• physical handicap.

Unfortunately, they lead to such a stigmatizing categorization that Castel prefers the term disaffiliation to "social exclusion" or "marginalization", which he groups into three categories:

• the integration zone, characterized by social stability,
• the vulnerable zone, and lastly
• the zone of disaffiliation, which groups together people who have dropped out.

In view of the importance of managing differences for the successful education of learners, how do schools manage these differences?

Differentiated teaching and its effect on classroom climate

To make schooling more inclusive, a number of teaching methods have been developed, including individual, mutual and simultaneous teaching, culminating in the advent of pedagogical differentiation.

The first method involves taking each child individually to teach him or her a lesson, for example; the second uses the tutoring system; and the simultaneous method involves using different teaching aids to adapt to the particular needs of each pupil.

The perceived difference

As a logical follow-up to these methods, Appoline Grevet, in her Master's thesis "Tackling the theme of difference with pupils to create a classroom climate conducive to learning", chose to experiment with pedagogical differentiation in a rather innovative way in her CE2 class (3rd year elementary), with a view to easing tensions between classmates who were making fun of their atypical compatriots, creating a rather chaotic working environment.

To give an overall picture of the class, out of a total of twenty-eight (28) pupils, four had disorders of various kinds: ADHD, myopathy, William-Beuren disease, dyslexia and dysorthographia.

With a view to creating a caring learning climate over several weeks, the teacher set up a pedagogical approach divided into three (03) phases:

• asking students about their perception of difference,
• highlighting difference through a simple exercise: bringing home an object that characterizes each student, and finally
• draw up a charter of difference to keep a written record of their activity. The aim was to remind students of the importance of being tolerant of differences in the event of misbehavior.

Against all expectations, the students were receptive and, in the end, they became aware of the injustice they were inflicting on their classmates, which considerably improved the class climate.

All in all, the best way to teach about difference is through communication; education leading to a real awareness of the negative effects of intolerance for the person experiencing this form of stigmatization.

If constructive discussions about the importance of respecting differences, whatever they may be, were held within families, it's highly likely that humans would be less unfair to each other.

Illustration: Rosy / Bad Homburg / Germany - pixabay

References

Grevey Apolline - Aborder le thème de la différence avec les élèves afin de créer un climat de classe propice aux apprentissages, Master's thesis, Métiers de l'enseignement, de l'éducation et de la formation, online-https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-03253468v1