Equality vs Equity in Behaviour Support

‘That’s not fair!’ As leaders, practitioners, carers, and parents, it’s not uncommon to hear these words uttered by those we support and look after: perhaps, students in a classroom witness one child being allowed to go out onto the playground ‘whenever they want’; or maybe someone in a residential care home is permitted to use a certain room that is not readily accessible to others.

Whether it’s a real or perceived injustice, nobody likes to feel like they have been treated unfairly. It can trigger intense feelings of annoyance, frustration, jealousy, and resentment towards others.

However, the reality is that, for a whole host of reasons, people are often treated in different ways which may, to the untrained eye, appear unfair. Knowing the difference between equality and equity, concepts that play an integral part in effective behaviour support, is key to understanding and accepting the underlying reasons behind the decisions we make as professionals.

Why equality can be a confusing concept

In all our settings, fairness is one of our key values. We stress the importance of caring for each other, being inclusive, and treating everyone equally. However, at times, our actions may appear to contradict this, due to the individual needs of the people we support and work with.

Understandably, this can cause confusion for the individuals we support. For example, when a student sees a teacher letting a certain pupil hold a fidget toy during a lesson, while nobody else is allowed one, it feels, in their eyes, like an injustice. Because they are not aware of the factors behind the teacher’s actions (perhaps the child has ADHD or is autistic, and the fidget toy enables them to regulate), the decision can appear unfair.

To dispel any misconceptions and help individuals understand why we sometimes treat people differently, we need to delve deeper into the definitions of equality and equity.