The term “social justice” has been around for a long time, but it keeps resurfacing. More recently, social justice has gained importance as societies are faced with upheavals and the rapid transformation of institutions. One of the most challenged areas is education. With growing societal and economic pressures, education is at the forefront. It has become a necessity to bring social justice in education. In this short essay, let us examine why.
Social justice : A definition
The term social justice has been around for centuries. However, in the nineteenth century, as the Industrial Revolution raged across Europe, social justice found its way at the centre of the academic debate. Europe was marked with social and political unrest, as the masses claimed their rights. Philosophers like Karl Marx brought to light the exploitation of the working class and the exploitative conditions in which workers toiled. Protests and unrests in the form of resistance necessitated reforms as the call for equality and unjust practices challenged unfair and exploitative systems. Social justice appeared at the forefront of reforms. Public demands for equal opportunities, privileges and access grew. Social justice revolved around wealth, property, access, and opportunities for social advancement. Recently, conditions brought the concept of social justice into the limelight, and it became a powerful instrument, and extending its influence to other areas such as environment, health, food, security, education, gender, race, military conflict and development, cutting across multiple disciplines, especially in the social sciences. Social justice allows the investigation of unjust practices and policies.
Social justice goes beyond equality.
In simple terms, social justice in Social Sciences refers to a fair division of wealth, resources, privileges, and opportunities within a society, whereby all individuals are treated in an equitable and fair way. It seeks inclusiveness, participation, and equitable access to opportunities. Social justice in education involves the recognition of social inequalities that limits or restricts equal access to educational opportunities. It seeks to address its impact on individuals and how to promote a fair and equitable system that promotes both equity and equality. This is the basis of a fair society that is characterised by competence and meritocratic principles.
Why bring social justice in education?
Here are some reasons:
1. It guarantees equality of educational opportunities to all
2. It promotes equity and equality
3. It promotes citizenship and participation
4. It allows critical thinking and engagement.
When factors like race, wealth, gender and socio-economic status determine access to education, there is injustice. These factors create differentiation and limit equality. In turn, they affect access to healthcare, housing, employment, and other privileges. They negatively impact on society.
In a social justice framework, the delivery of education is democratised. This happens at two levels: the school and the classroom. The school curriculum is designed to “unlock” the minds of the learner and broaden the learner’s views, so that constructive change occurs. Instead of sidelining issues such as racism, sexism, poverty, criminality, and others, social justice in education engages the learner to debate these issues and develop an analytical thinking. The school structure operates within a democratic framework. The classroom is inclusive and removes all structures of divisiveness. The classroom does not sort, shift and select. The “parcelling out” of learners creates broader impact. When a student drops out, opportunities may be closed. The goal of social justice in education is to bring more equality and to eliminate structures that discriminate. It removes barriers that impede access to quality education for all.
When race, gender, social class and wealth become the determinant factors, the system favours the privileged and the underprivileged misses out. This disparity continues as the student chooses a career or seeks to enter a professional field. For the underprivileged the struggle continues after school and the chance of success is limited. An unfair education system favours the privileged and reduces the chances of the underprivileged. Social justice in education challenges the unfair practices of the school system. It gives equal opportunities to all.
To ensure fair practices, the first priority is to develop a system that is democratic and which promotes equality at all levels. Students are selected merely on academic abilities and penalised for not doing well academically. All students should be equipped to acquire the skills and knowledge that they require. Those who fall behind, may be tracked and the reasons identified why they are struggling or face the risk of dropping out. Schools should not celebrate “success” and penalise “failures”. Adequate tracking can help to identify students who are at risk and resources should be available to support these students. Students should not be institutionalised to think that are failures or inadequate.
When schools promote inequality and unfair practices, students are socialised in certain ways and compartmentalised in certain ways from an early age. This continues into their professional life.
Globalisation, digitalisation and educational reforms
Globalisation and digitalisation have put pressures on the education system and the focus has shifted where learning is mechanical. The school has become more competitive, and the public education system is under constant pressure to “innovate” or face financial challenges. Investment is on digital technologies and tools that require a different approach to learning. Digitalisation has negative impacts, and the rate of dropouts continue to rise. Some schools, depending on the neighbourhood, are better equipped than others. Funding varies and often is inequitable. The private-public education debate is politicised and represents specific interests’ groups. Social justice in education ensures that all students have access to quality education. Educational reforms should reflect fair practices. At its core, social justice is about fair distribution of wealth and opportunities. For this to happen, there has to be a paradigm shift.
A school that is committed to social justice opens up opportunities and give equal access to all students, irrespective of social class, gender or race. It devises curriculum that are inclusive, analytical and encourages discourse on social issues like poverty, racism, and sexism. Such discussions allow the students to become aware of the injustices that prevail in society. Their awareness is important for constructive change to occur. A social justice curriculum allows the student to think critically and question the layers of inequality and injustices.
Many schools tend to be passive and take little or no stance on controversial issues. The fact that education is a highly complex area and political, schools cannot remain passive. Schools that promote elitism and classifies students by criteria that are often unfair, promote injustice. While schools are decaying in some neighbourhoods due to a decline in public funding, elite institutions celebrate success. Elite schools have a better chance of placing their students destined for a professional career. A system that breeds elitism reflects the unequal nature of the society.
Social justice in education recognises social inequalities and seek to redress these through systemic change. The goal is to ensure equal access to quality education. A student’s background should not provoke inequalities. It is to promote equality, inclusion, and diversity. The school should be a safe learning haven for all students.
Exclusion and closure
Rousseau, John Dewey, Pierre Bourdieu, Michael Apple, Paulo Freire, and others have all argued that the school cannot be an instrument for social control, but an institution that instils citizenship and openness. Through a process of selection, the school practises exclusion or closure, and not inclusion. They call for a radical shift, so that the school engages all stakeholders and allows participation in the decision-making process. Social justice in education requires a process that engages students, parents, and communities. Policies and reforms should be for the benefit of all, not only for a few. Exclusionary practices must be eliminated.
A key concern is how education may contribute to eliminate social and economic inequalities and contribute towards greater social justice. For example, the United Nations proposes that “education is the key that will allow many other Sustainable Development Goals…to be achieved. When people are able to get quality education they can break from the cycle of poverty. Education therefore helps to reduce inequalities and to reach gender equality.” (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/147821 0318809758).
In order to develop an equitable system and promote social justice in education, a greater understanding of broader societal inequalities is required. Schools on their own may not be able to address social injustices. The oppressive nature of societies as argued by Paulo Freire and others, is extended into school and the classroom. Hence schooling itself takes an oppressive nature. While the focus here is on the educational system and educational processes, it is to be noted that there are disadvantages in other spheres of social life. These disadvantages keep many children out of the school system. A key question is how to integrate them into a system that is not equitable. Therefore, in evaluating injustices, we need to critically examine the enrolment processes that exclude such a large number of children. Social injustices at societal level have to be addressed and eliminated if schools are to become open learning centres for every child, irrespective of the child’s background.
By Dr IBRAHIM ALLADIN