social justice in education essay

Social Justice in Education Essay

Justice in every contemporary society is a matter of concern. Social justice as advocated by the human rights is focused towards ensuring that human rights are equally available to all persons regardless of their ethnic origins, religions, social status and gender (Gigacz, 2007). Religious institutions and schools are then mandated to ensure that schools have included social justice education in their curriculum. The purpose of teaching justice in schools is deeply rooted in the religious teachings (Mananzan, 2002).

The education pertaining to justice subsists to promote and encourage fairness both in schools and in the community. In the New Testament, the Bible through the Christ teachings emphasises on the agape love as justice that goes beyond mere relationship with our friends but with our enemies (Groome, 1997).

Therefore, by maintaining a clear distinction between the education about justice in the classroom and offering various channels of justice execution in the wider school environment is a crucial step towards realizing social justice in the school environment and the community as a whole.

With a clear distinction between justice taught in class and justice allowed to thrive in the school environments, teachers can be able to observe how their students perceive and response to social injustices in the society and within the school set up. Through this, students’ behaviours and responses to ethnicity, religions, social status and gender can be closely monitored. This practise then mandates that the school administration provides channels and means through which social justice and fairness can flourish.

They are then expected to put relentless effort to counterbalance all tendencies trying to sideline all the marginalized members within the school environment. As such, the school policies and strategies should be, free of gender, religious, social status and ethnic biases. This approach will ultimately lead to better appreciation of the minority students.

In mono-cultural education, the fellow students and teachers usually look down upon minority students (Mananzan, 2002). However, by clearly differentiating between educating about justice in the classroom and offering the establishment of justice, teachers will promote the acceptance of cultural diversity.

Tuohy in his writings illustrates how the catholic teachings promote and advocate thoughts and actions in their social teachings (Tuohy, 2005). Similarly By outlining the distinction between the forms of justice in the classroom set-up and offering the execution of justice in the wider school environment, students should not only depend on their teachers’ opinions, but also equally develop their own opinions in this regard.

Tuohy suggest that the world of thought inspired from class work introduces the students to values, principles and ideas that guide them in their daily activities. Likewise the world of actions demands that the principles and ideas learnt in class must be translated practically into the students lives (Tuohy, 2005).

By doing so, students will demonstrate that they are respectable thinking beings. Through their class-derived knowledge on social justice, they can examine their own identities in the environment in a just manner. Similarly, by allowing students to learn on their own, we let them to have multiple viewpoints in solving different issues affecting them.

Therefore, through the effective appreciation of social justice by students and their teachers, we not only differentiate between the justice taught in class and the justice formed within our settings, but also understand that every person can on their own develop and engage with others in a free and just society.

With a clear distinction, teachers and the school staff will not only teach their students, but will also serve them by acting as role models. This implies that teachers must demonstrate to students through words and actions the importance of being just by respecting, caring and loving them. Through these acts, teachers will initiate and spark critical thinking and curiosity among their students.

The failure to differentiate between the justices taught in the classroom and practiced justice means that we have introduced academic aspects in the social justice education (Mananzan, 2002). With a clear distinction between the two, students would not only put into practice what they have learnt in class, but would also have the chance to understand their real world challenges.

Some teachers only focus on teaching their students the social education without emphasizing on the practical justice experiences challenging students such as gender and racial discrimination. With such teaching methodologies, students will only major on cramming their class work for passing their exams. Normally student under the guidance of such teachers adopt poor social skills (Mananzan, 2002).

All types of education including social justice are geared towards making a difference in students’ lives both in school and outside the community (Mananzan, 2002).

It must engender transformative approaches by students, teachers and the community at large. To achieve this cause, social justice education should not only be taught in class, but also be allowed to thrive through practical actions in classrooms, school environment and in the society. This calls for students to be critical, analyze the world from their own perspective, and take actions as per their insights (Mananzan, 2002).

As Tuohy suggest, School religious education aims at promoting ethical thinking and actions in the society. In this regard, students are introduced to ethical ideas, values and principles aimed at promoting just behaviours both in school and in the society (Tuohy, 2005). By actions, these students are supposed to demonstrate practically what they have learnt in class. The school as a centre where concepts are develop and conveyed means that religious teachings through clear distinction of forms of justice will be refined.

By clearly differentiating between the educations about justice in the classroom and offering the formation for justice in the wider school environment, we encourage students to embrace both Bibliotherapy and case studies (Ferreira, 2008). The Bibliotherapy process allows students to solve their problems through reading class books and other relevant articles. There are several religious books and articles available in our schools.

When students assess these articles, they are encouraged to become more morally upright and just as the religious education permits. Similarly, through case studies, students stimulate and initiate their own critical thinking to help them in solving their day-to-day problems.

In this regard, teachers encourage their students to collect data about social injustices in the society. This data, relative to their moral issues, undergoes critical examination and analysis. Like the previous method, this method permits students to learn acceptable morals and encourages them to uphold justice in their daily endeavours. Thus, the two methods equally contribute to the refining of the religious education in our schools.

To highlight the concept taught in the Bible and other religious books, religious education aims at instilling favourable behaviours and habits in students’ lives through teachings of peace and social justice (Groome, 1997). Social justice education permits just and fair environment in our society.

This implies that through the learning and application of social justice between the students and school workforce, students are moulded into morally upright and just individuals. All these attributes as advocated in religious education imply that students are not only going to enjoy their religious lessons, but also comprehend the message passed by these lessons and employ it bettering themselves.

In addition, the emphasis of actions and reflection in these teaching approaches such as need for a critical reflection is eminent as constituted by several religious teachings and ministries (Mananzan, 2002). To ensure the continuation of the work on justice, teachers will conduct further research to understand the background culture of their students hence unmasking their personal insights and prejudices against other cultures and religions.

As a result, the teachers will have a preview of those who suffer from injustices including their minority students. In the course of this process, our instincts and guilt are going to convict us to live morally upright and justified lives as advocated by the religious lessons in our schools.

Religious education emphasizes on social justice, and a moral society implies that social justice should be design in such a manner as to promote and allow justice to prevail among school set-ups. Likewise, religious lessons and most religious articles encourage readers to maintain a healthy and good relationship with the authorities (Tuohy, 2005).

Thus, through the clear distinction of the taught form of justice and the created justice, students learn and foster good relationships among themselves, teachers and the community members. In this regard, the students will have refined their religious lessons teachings and values.

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IvyPanda. (2019, August 12). Social Justice in Education. https://ivypanda.com/essays/social-justice-essay/

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Handbook of Social Justice Interventions in Education pp 1–24 Cite as

Defining Social Justice in Education

Comparative Perspectives from Practitioners and Scholars

• John C. Pijanowski 2 &
• Kevin P. Brady 2  
• Living reference work entry
• First Online: 01 October 2020

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Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

The definition of social justice in education is neither universally agreed upon nor has it remained static over time. Concepts of fairness, social recognition, diversity, inclusion, and antibias are among the main concepts that constitute how scholars think about, and educators practice, social justice in their work. Although conceptualizing social justice and the ways social justice looks in the field do not always align, they do inform each other, and university educator preparation programs provide a unique bridge between theory and practice. Although there have been notable attempts to co-opt and limit the social justice lexicon, over time ideas about what social justice means have grown to be more eclectic, not more exclusive. Moreover, initially disparate ideas about justice have found connections in philosophy and practice, and inform each other in interesting ways that help guide educators in how to conceive of, engage in, and measure transformative social justice action. This chapter traces the tensions, collaborations, and evolution of how social justice in education has been defined over time and across far-flung corners of the education enterprise. The primary questions this work considers are: (1) How do scholars conceptualize and advocate for social justice in theory and practice? (2) How do practitioners engage in the practice of social justice? (3) Where do practitioners draw their theoretical understanding of, and ideas for, practicing, social justice?

• Distributive justice
• Social recognition
• Preparation programs
• Educational practitioners
• Accreditation standards

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Pijanowski, J.C., Brady, K.P. (2020). Defining Social Justice in Education. In: Mullen, C.A. (eds) Handbook of Social Justice Interventions in Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29553-0_106-1

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What Is Social Justice Education Anyway?

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The notion of social justice pedagogy has become pertinent in education, especially in urban communities that have a history of being oppressed through schooling. To practice social justice teaching and learning practices is to truly see students for who they are and where they come from. But what does it mean to see students? Seeing students requires teachers to recognize them as valuable contributors to the classroom space, as opposed to social, cultural, and academic burdens on the so-called master in the room—the teacher.

A social justice education is centered in democracy and the freedom to exercise one’s full humanity. Conceptions of equity and democracy have always been practically and theoretically connected to the field of education, which is often perceived as the greatest human equalizer. Although there is some truth to this, it is important to understand that the notion of meritocracy is flawed, especially when you come from economically marginalized communities. If you work hard and get straight As in school, it does not automatically mean that you will attain social mobility. This is the very nature of capitalism: Somebody wins, and many people lose. This is particularly true if you are from a poor or working-class community.

Many people think that social justice education is optional, something cool to do during a special professional-development session.

What I am describing here is social reproduction theory, developed by Karl Marx, to illustrate the ways that social inequality is passed on from one generation to the next. What does this have to do with education? Well, we must begin to look at education intersectionally. We cannot talk about schools, without addressing race, class, gender, ability, sexuality, and politics, because education is a political act. To ignore intersectionality within schools erases the very identities present in our classrooms and in our respective communities, every day.

As the director of a teacher-education program, one of my primary goals upon stepping into this role was building a vision that honors social justice teaching and learning practices. In one of my courses on curriculum and instruction, I implore students to look at curriculum as a primary mechanism for making the world a more equitable place.

We learn curricular theories from the likes of John Dewey and bell hooks. We use these theories as lenses to better understand ourselves, those who are different from us, and the various communities we all represent. Through this process, students begin to come to terms with the ways that their own education has been oppressive, while thinking through solutions for not repeating the cycle, once they step into the classroom.

However, I must admit that this work is not easy, primarily because many people think that social justice education is optional , something cool to do during a special professional-development session. As I continue to push for social justice education across all urban teacher education courses, everyone initially agrees to do this work. But agreeing and implementing social justice pedagogy are two different things.

One can agree that education is a great human equalizer, yet there are still schools that have significantly fewer resources and less funding than others. There are still many students, predominantly Black and Brown, who are stereotyped as “below standard” before they are loved, taught, and respected. Teachers are still underpaid and overworked, often blamed for all of the failings of the public education system. However, the problems of the public education system are layered and connected to policymakers, school districts, parents, teachers, students, and deeply entrenched racist ideologies. A surefire way to penetrate the racialized and class-based problems of urban school systems is by adopting a social justice pedagogy.

So what exactly does a social justice pedagogy or model look like?

Here are five social justice-based strategies that will help create a more humanizing, welcoming, and intellectual learning environment in your classroom across grade levels and content areas.

1. Acknowledge who is in the room.

In order to truly teach your students in a way that is humanizing and affirming, you must know who they are and where they come from. This means learning about their respective communities, cultures, and families.

2. Start with the knowledge your students have.

Your students are coming into your classroom with prior knowledge tied to various content areas that are connected to their culturally relevant understandings of the world. Embrace what they already know by implementing it into the curriculum, while building new knowledge alongside them.

3. Create unit plans and curricular maps for the entire year.

Planning for your students ahead of time is key to having the most critical and engaging school year. By using a backwards-design framework centered in equity and inclusivity with regard to your content area, you want to think of where you want your students to be by the end of the year, and work backwards to develop the assessments and activities that will accompany objective mastery.

4. Be honest about who you are and your biases.

We all have biases as a result of living in the United States, which was founded upon white supremacy. As such, it is important to reflect on your personal prejudices. Acknowledging and healing your biases will make you a better social justice educator.

5. Encourage students to question everything, including your teaching.

A social justice classroom is one that is critical in nature, thus, we should be constantly encouraging students to question the world around them as well as the schools they attend. Give students opportunities to critique and construct their own opinions and interpretations of your teaching and the overall school culture.

If we truly want to change the world we live in, education is the best place to start. Considering the rapid transformation of the United States socially, culturally, racially, and linguistically, the only pathway to a more just education system is by adopting a radical and relentless pursuit of social justice teaching and learning practices.

A version of this article appeared in the January 23, 2019 edition of Education Week as What Is Social Justice Education Anyway?

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