The concept of equality plays a central role in contentious education and social debates. In many countries like South Korea, its use has become more prevalent with the increasing number of ethnically diverse populations. These debates and public discourses, however, do not lead to resolution but rather to the entrenchment of oppositional positions. In an effort to address this ideological impasse, this paper traces the history of equality discourse in the U.S. context by examining landmark legal cases, affirmative action court decisions, and contrasting state curricula in California and Florida. Methodologically, the study employs a comparative and interpretive analysis of legal texts, policy documents, and curricular frameworks, guided by philosophical inquiry rather than empirical measurement. The U.S. experience, with its long history of grappling with racial diversity and equality claims, provides important lessons for countries like South Korea that are undergoing rapid demographic change due to international migration. As an alternative to polarized frameworks, the paper reframes equality discourse by introducing the concept of relational equality, drawing from the works of Martha Minow, Elizabeth Anderson, and Iris Marion Young. This perspective shifts attention from distributive outcomes to social relations, revealing how both formal equality and equity-based interventions can reproduce stigma, hierarchy, and dependency. By foregrounding equal standing, mutual respect, and institutional conditions of participation, relational equality offers analytic guidance for envisioning educational practices that expand support while avoiding zero-sum logics and the reproduction of marginalization.

Authors:
Joon K. Kim, Seoul National University, South Korea

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Joon K. Kim is professor of Social Studies Education at Seoul National University, Republic of Korea. His current project examines the evolving changes in Korea's immigration, social integration, and multicultural education.

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