INTERCULTURAL MEDIA PROJECT
2023-2024
Equitable Education: SDG #4.5
This research aims to find methods to ensure equal and equitable access to all levels of education for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and children in vulnerable situations. With this research, we hope to answer the question of:
How can the educational system be more equitable for persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, and children in vulnerable situations?
Meet The Team!
Elise York
Hi, I’m Elise! I’m a first-year student at Bader College studying Health Sciences. Growing up in different countries around the world where not everyone has the same opportunities inspired me to research more into inequity and discrimination in educational systems and how they can be improved. I hope you enjoy our project!
Liliana Chow
Hello! My name is Liliana Chow and I am a first-year Concurrent Education student at Bader College. My teachables are chemistry and Indigenous Studies. I’m interested in this project because education is what shapes our future. I hope that you learn something new from our research!
Kaitlyn Martin
Hello! My name is Kaitlyn Martin, and I am a first-year student at Bader College. I am in the Concurrent Education and Bachelor of Arts program, and I am hoping to have my teachable subjects as geography and biology. I am passionate about creating safe and inclusive environments for all students and improving the education system for all future generations. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our research and I hope you enjoy it!
Yusuke Mizuhata
Hi, I’m Yusuke Mizuhata! I’m a student studying International communication in Aichi University. I like to get knowledge talking with international people. I would appreciate if you are interested in what we did and enjoy it!
Aishnikha Sayinthan
Hi, My name is Aishnikha Sayinthan. I'm a first year Arts student currently studying in Bader College. I joined the Intercultural Project as I deeply value education and its importance. Additionally, I believe education should be accessible for everyone in our world and participating in this project will help reaching our SDG goal.
Kae Ito
Hi, I’m Kae! I am a third-year student at Nagoya-city-university, specialized in intercultural studies. I love having intercultural conversations, which is what brought me here! I hope you enjoy our project and get any inspirations regarding our future of education.
Yuki Manda
Hi! I’m Yuki Manda! I’m a fourth-year sudent at Keio University. I'm working as a volunteer of teaching studies, especially for junior high school students. This experience made me think equality of education is crucial. That’s why I joined this Intercultural Project. I hope you enjoy our project!
Our Research
We split our research into three different segments: persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and children in vulnerable situations. The format we ultimately decided to share our research with is in a podcast which you will find below.
Persons with Disabilities
Figure 1: MICS-EAGLE Initiatives work they are focusing on (Atzatzev).
Students with disabilities are...
“25 percent less likely to attend early childhood education” & “47 percent more likely to be out of primary school”(Nina).
*References are listed at the bottom of this page
Indigenous Peoples in Canada and Japan
We interviewed Stacey McEachern, a high school teacher from British Columbia to gain insight on how equity for Indigenous students is progressing. Among her many suggestions, these two quotes stuck out.
"All Indigenous students need access to knowledge (...) in ways that align with their cultural values and worldviews."
"More transparency and accountability needs to be asked of teachers and administration regarding how they are being equitable in the classroom."
- Stacey McEachern, Métis Educator
Our podcast, linked above, provides more information from our exclusive interview with Stacey McEachern.
Ainu - Indigenous people in Japan
This is the research about indigenous people in educational system, especially about Ainu who are indigenous people in Japan. They were culturally distinct from Japanese neighbors, but they have been integrated to Japanese society which caused some difficulties for them in the process, including educationally.
This podcast tells what kinds of differences or gaps there are which were found out of books and reports and hope it help listeners think how you could intervene in equitably.
Children in Vulnerable Situations
in Japan
In this podcast, we focus on how education systems can be equitable for children in vulnerable situations. Yuki managed to interview two junior high school students; both of their parents receive social benefits. Besides, Kae was able to know what a teacher working in elementary school is thinking about our theme. We hope you’ll give it a listen when you have time!
*In this podcast, we mention 'cram school'.
It is a private and fee-paying school, held as extra tuition on top of the standard study at school. In Japan, many students go there to prepare for high school entrance exams or university entrance exams.
References:
1. Atzatzev. “Mics - Education Analysis for Global Learning and Equity.” UNICEF DATA, 10 Feb. 2023, https://data.unicef.org/resources/mics-education-analysis-for-global-learning-and-equity/.
2. “Education for Children with Disabilities: Improving Access and Quality.” GOV.UK, 1 Oct. 2010, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-for-children-with-disabilities-improving-access-and-quality-guidance-note-a-dfid-practice-paper/education-for-children-with-disabilities-improving-access-and-quality.
3. Hassfurter, Karoline. “Education for Children with Disabilities.” UNICEF DATA, 21 Dec. 2021, https://data.unicef.org/resources/education-for-children-with-disabilities/.
4. “Inclusive Education and Children with Disabilities | UNICEF.” Bing, Microsoft, 14 Feb. 2013, https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=equity%2Bin%2Beducaation%2Bfor%2Badults%2Bwith%2Bdisabilties&&view=detail&mid=BBBC755D0093817C7CBCBBBC755D0093817C7CBC&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dequity%2520in%2520educaation%2520for%2520adults%2520with%2520disabilties%26qs%3Dn%26form%3DQBVR%26%3D%2525eManage%2520Your%2520Search%2520History%2525E%26sp%3D-1%26pq%3Dequity%2520in%2520educaation%2520for%2520adults%2520with%2520disabilties%26sc%3D0-48%26sk%3D%26cvid%3D1F78B4B2BEA243F68594D46F66A4CB7E%26ghsh%3D0%26ghacc%3D0%26ghpl%3D. Accessed 14 Feb. 2023.
5. Nina. “Seen, Counted, Included: Using Data to Shed Light on the Well-Being of Children with Disabilities.” UNICEF DATA, 2 Dec. 2022, https://data.unicef.org/resources/children-with-disabilities-report-2021/.