Abstract
Teachers are seen as the most critical in-school actors in promoting social justice and called upon to be 'change agents' for social justice. To fulfill their role as change agents, teachers should strive for educational equality. However, international research shows that teachers fail to fulfill this "equalizer" role, as students' social background still strongly predict their educational attainment. There are large gaps between privileged and disadvantaged groups in terms of educational opportunities and outcomes. In this doctoral research, teachers' views on differentiation were studied through the lens of social justice and educational opportunities. In differentiation, teachers allocate resources such as time and support to students to meet their diverse learning needs. The question of how to fairly distribute the teacher's scarce time appeals to teachers' ethical values and can have implications for educational equality. This doctoral research provides insight into teachers' views on fair differentiation and identifies elements that contribute to the professional development of teachers committed to social justice and educational equality. The findings indicate that teachers grapple with ethical differentiation dilemmas, such as whether to distribute their time equally regardless of differences in home support or to provide extra support to students who receive little support at home. Should teachers set personal learning goals, allowing educational outcomes among students to diverge, or should they establish collective learning goals, aiming for educational outcomes to converge? Additionally, it was found that what teachers consider fair may not always align with what they actually do in practice. Even if there is a clear school vision on differentiation, teachers may still have divergent views on fair differentiation. However, a school vision on differentiation does help teachers make joint agreements about differentiation in the classroom. Furthermore, targeted professional development for teachers can contribute to teachers agency for social justice and educational equality.
