Definition of Equal Opportunity

The concept of equality opportunity is directly related to the ideal of justice. This means that it is considered that there cannot be true justice if there are no social mechanisms that guarantee equality between individuals.

The difference between equality and equal opportunities

It is clear that there have been and are differences between human beings. In fact, the differences are very diverse: economic, social, cultural or intellectual. These differences create inequalities, which causes a feeling of rejection in some people, who consider that it is unfair that some have much of everything and others have practically nothing simply due to some circumstance beyond their control (for example, because they were born in a country poor). The idea of inequality it would be the factor that unleashes an ideal of justice and, at the same time, the need to create mechanisms that make us equal. In general, justice is considered to be based on equality and, in fact, most constitutions emphasize the idea that all individuals are equal in the face of equality.

law (In other historical periods there was no equality before the law, not even from a theoretical point of view).

So that equality is not simply a formal and theoretical issue, it is necessary that a society implement equal opportunity policies. In other words, equal opportunities implies that all individuals, regardless of their origin or social condition, must have the possibility of having them. resources or services (opportunities) to develop their lives. If we compare life with a career, we could say that there are equal opportunities if everyone We started from the same starting point, because it would be unfair if they had an advantage over each other by some reason.

Equal opportunities in education

It is in the educational field where equality or inequality of opportunities between people is best appreciated. If there is no public education system that guarantees access to education of all population there is a clear unequal situation in a society, as some children learn and others live in ignorance. In general, it is considered unfair that a child cannot be educated because she is poor, because her parents force him to work or for any other reason.

To live in a just society with human values, it is necessary that the education of a nation incorporate equal opportunity criteria. The main one is universal schooling for the entire school-age population. However, there are other mechanisms related to equal opportunities (do not discriminate against any child because of their disability or for reasons of sex or the non-use of strategies that may favor the discrimination in some sense).

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Equal Opportunities Issues