Assignment 3 2025
Unique Number:
Due date: 23 June 2025
QUESTION 1
The Bell Curve and the Construction of “Normality” in Society and Education
1. Introduction
The bell curve, originally developed as a statistical tool in the 18th century, has over time
been applied to human traits and behaviours, contributing to the construction of "normality"
in both societal and educational contexts. While it provides a useful model for understanding
statistical distribution, its application to people has led to problematic practices in sorting,
judging, and excluding individuals. In education, the influence of bell-curve thinking has
shaped pedagogical approaches, assessment methods, and learner categorisation. This
essay explores the historical development of the bell curve, its role in defining "normality",
and its implications in both educational and broader social contexts. The discussion also
highlights critical perspectives on bell-curve thinking and explores inclusive alternatives that
recognise human diversity.
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QUESTION 1
The Bell Curve and the Construction of “Normality” in Society and Education
1. Introduction
The bell curve, originally developed as a statistical tool in the 18th century, has over
time been applied to human traits and behaviours, contributing to the construction of
"normality" in both societal and educational contexts. While it provides a useful
model for understanding statistical distribution, its application to people has led to
problematic practices in sorting, judging, and excluding individuals. In education, the
influence of bell-curve thinking has shaped pedagogical approaches, assessment
methods, and learner categorisation. This essay explores the historical development
of the bell curve, its role in defining "normality", and its implications in both
educational and broader social contexts. The discussion also highlights critical
perspectives on bell-curve thinking and explores inclusive alternatives that recognise
human diversity.
2. Origins and Evolution of the Bell Curve
The bell curve, also known as the normal distribution, emerged from 18th-century
mathematics, particularly in the work of Carl Friedrich Gauss and others who used it
to describe statistical regularities in astronomical observations (Teaching for All,
2019: 8). The curve represents how values in a population tend to cluster around a
mean, with fewer values appearing as one moves away from the average. While this
model was useful in analysing natural and mathematical phenomena, it was later
extended into the social sciences.
In the 19th century, the bell curve began to be applied to human characteristics such
as intelligence, behaviour, and criminality. Sociologists and statisticians used it to
represent the ―average man,‖ placing commonly occurring human traits at the centre
and less common ones at the extremes (Mahlo, 2019: 9). Over time, this statistical
concept evolved into a normative framework, wherein the average became idealised,
and deviations from the average were often labelled as abnormal or undesirable
(Teaching for All, 2019: 10).