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Abstract
Desert and the Promotion of Learning. The Principle of Achievement in the Justification of Educational Inequality
Christian Nerowski has recently discussed the role of the notions of achievement and desert in the theory of educational justice. He claims that learners deserve certain advantages – namely good marks or diploma – due to their performing well in tests. He uses this claim to justify educational inequalities. This essay critically engages with Nerowski’s considerations: It is argued that for achievement to function as the basis for the distribution of educational or social advantages, learners need to be enabled to perform well. The debate on desert, then, leads back to the widely-discussed question of what kind of educational support learners – especially the socially disadvantaged – are entitled to.