In search of a fair public education: A case study on equity in secondary education in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands

Abstract

We live in a world full of conflicting and contradictory ideas. One of them is the idea of fair education. What makes public education fair? A first answer would be that which makes possible equal access to a public good, that is, the equal possibility of access to a shared ethic for the good life. And it is here that the debate on equity in education arises, which we outline in the first part of this article, giving voice to the proposals of authors such as Rawls, Bolívar, Fraser, and Nussbaum, whose concepts serve as the basis for our research model. In a second part, we present a case study of our group, a secondary school (IES) located on the island of Tenerife, and analyze how the school articulates and develops forms of equity influenced by and adapted to the context. Finally, as a provisional conclusion, we highlight contextual aspects, such as changes in educational policies and legislation, teacher involvement, educational results and school dropout rates, that present challenges for a more fair public secondary education.