EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES

fear of the poor, positive discrimination, and affirmative policies

Abstract

The current globalization process highlights a phenomenon that is increasingly making people feel restless: the fear of the poor. This phobia also happens in educational practices. This paper aims at defining and distinguishing two kinds of discrimination: negative discrimination, i. e., prejudice or intolerance towards the poor; and positive discrimination, a way to admit the differences and specific characteristics that belong to a culture, social or ethnic group.