Navigating educational equal opportunity is hard. Christopher Jencks's five principles for equal education opportunity make navigating equal education a little bit easier - once we understand the principles, of course.
In this episode, Avra Reddy interviews Jaime Ahlberg (University of Florida) about how we can use moral principles to understand theories of justice in Jencks's paper. They explore questions like: why do principles matter? What is the difference between weak and strong humane justice? How do we pick the best principle? Plus an analogy to help you better understand how principles can help us navigate our lives.
Are you teaching Jencks in your education or philosophy class? There's a study guide for this episode!
Article discussed in this episode: Jencks, Christopher. “Whom Must We Treat Equally for Educational Opportunity to Be Equal?” Ethics, vol. 98, no. 3, University of Chicago Press, 1988, pp. 518–33, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2380965.
Produced by Avra Reddy and Carrie Welsh. Interview recorded in September 2021. Music is "Frieden" by Ketsa, from the Free Music Archive.