In this paper, we study the links between the teaching of religion and constitutional values through the history of Quebec. This history has been marked by two phases. The first phase started in 1867 with the adoption of the British North America Act that protected denominational Catholic and Protestant Education. The second phase is the one with the single compulsory non-denominational course, that was established in 2008. This system can be associated with the values of democracy, federalism, constitutionalism and the rule of law. The Ethics and Religious Culture course can be associated with these values, but also with that of protection of minorities. However, this course has always been the object of criticism. The current government is creating a new course called Culture and Citizenship in Québec. By analyzing the relationship between this new course and these values, we want to demonstrate that it reflects these values, although there could be a debate about how it reflects the protection of minorities.

Agency is important to contribute to a democratic society. Therefore, agency development within the school system requires studying. By developing historical-citizen abilities, History classes provide an opportunity to promote agency in students. This article aims to investigate how critical-transformative agency can be fostered through a Critical Citizenship Sequence (CCS) by integrating history, citizenship, and human rights. Data were obtained from implementing the CCS in tenth-grade History classrooms. We studied the relationship between agency and the abilities of interpretation and positioning based on 182 students’ written performances. We observed four agency profiles: lack of agency, duty-oriented agency, social agency, and critical-transformative agency. We identified a relationship between each profile and the performance in interpretation and positioning abilities, that is, the greater the capacity for action, the higher the level of performance in abilities. In a second phase, we analyzed 13 student interviews to investigate students’ perspectives on the relationship between their abilities and the CCS implementation. Results show that the CCS stages most valued by students for developing interpretation and positioning abilities were Using Sources and Open Classroom Discussion. Although agency was not fully recognized by the students, they still identified the role that history and human rights play in fostering agency.

This Special Issue throws a spotlight on educational activism. It brings together an international collection of papers offering insights into struggles over education in a variety of contexts. Collectively, the papers capture the breadth and diversity of educational activism. They document battles fought by a range of different actors and illustrate how educational settings can become important sites for collective mobilisation and active citizenship. Beyond introducing the contributions to the collection, this opening paper serves two further purposes. First, we survey recent research in the field to build a picture of prominent areas of conflict in public education systems. And second, we present a novel conceptualisation of educational activism designed to aid further understanding and development of this important area of educational enquiry. Our ambition is for the collection to inspire further research in the field and encourage closer collaboration with campaigners engaged in struggles for educational and social justice.

This paper explores the retrospective experiences of lesbians and gay men in China regarding their encounters with gender normativity in primary and secondary schools. Thirteen self-identified gay and lesbian young adults (aged 20–30) were interviewed, providing a Chinese perspective that challenges Western-centric viewpoints on experiencing adolescence as a sexuality diverse individual. For many, gender-related homophobic harassment was rife in their schools, manifesting as peers’ teasing, name calling and public criticism by teachers. In response to ongoing harassment, some participants tried to modify their gender expression and hide their sexuality. The findings highlight the intertwining of nationalist discourses, heterosexism and binary gender stereotypes, which characterise school climates in China, inclusive of tolerance of gender-related homophobic language and behaviours; teachers’ expectations of gender normativity; and an absence of gender and sexuality diversity supportive school policies. These marginalising experiences at school also led to self-acceptance issues and internalised homophobia for some participants.

The quality of relationships among students, faculty, and organizations is key to the impact of Service-Learning (SL) programs. However, research has primarily focused on student outcomes, leaving a gap in the analysis of these relationships and their commitment to social impact. This case study examines the relationships among stakeholders in an SL program at a private South American university through interviews with 30 participants. Given the lack of research on this topic in the region, the findings provide valuable insights for institutions implementing SL as a tool for social justice in education. The relationship between organizations and faculty was often found to be exploitative and superficial, though faculty expressed a willingness to improve it. In contrast, other interactions were more transformative, characterized by high levels of communication and engagement, reflecting progress toward a more critical and socially just approach. We conclude that ongoing evaluation is essential to improving stakeholder relationships in SL programs and establishing them as a tool for equity and social justice in higher education.

The aim of the study was to investigate the participants’ views on the challenges encountered by the education system and the changes in Gaza’s education system following the recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. Participants were 40 Gazan refugees selected from internally displaced Palestinian camps in the city of Rafah during the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip. Thematic analysis identified seven main themes: (1) disruption of schooling; (2) illiteracy and educational decline; (3) lack of resources for learning; (4) decline in academic motivation; (5) psychological and emotional impact; (6) makeshift learning attempts; (7) generational implications of lost education . The study emphasized the difficulties encountered by the education sector in Gaza, which suffered extensive damage due to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. It calls for immediate international assistance to rescue the education system. This support should focus on rebuilding schools, addressing students’ educational losses, and providing mental health support for both students and teachers.

It is well evidenced in the literature that the act of volunteering provides university students with the opportunity to improve their employability skills, enhance their CVs and contribute to the common good of a community. Many other merits of volunteering are available to students, the host organisation and the community. Despite these merits, it is not clear what relationship, if any, exists between students who volunteer and their wellbeing. Drawing on a mixed methods approach, including 316 students from a modern university in England, this research employed a three-dimensional conceptualisation of wellbeing that touches on subjective, material and relational elements to examine associations between volunteering and the wellbeing of students whilst at University. Findings demonstrate that prior volunteering can be a predictor of future volunteering, and the duration of volunteering was positively correlated with student perceptions that their wellbeing was improved through volunteering. This positive impact can be evident through an array of effects such as personal growth, acquisition of a sense of meaningfulness, connectedness, positivity, improved mental health and increased confidence. The outcomes of this study have implications for policy and practice, particularly when considering mechanisms universities are putting in place to support the wellbeing of students.

Syrian refugee children in Lebanon face significant barriers to education, navigating a system split between formal afternoon shifts in Lebanese public schools and informal education provided by NGOs and community-led initiatives. This study finds that despite the formal system’s promise of recognized certification, informal education is widely perceived by both students and parents as more accessible, relevant, and supportive. Parents prioritize their children’s well-being, viewing informal schooling as a space where students receive tailored support, culturally sensitive instruction, and trauma-informed teaching—contrasting with the exclusion, overcrowding, and linguistic barriers faced in formal education. While formal schooling offers potential pathways for mobility, its quality and effectiveness are questioned, leading many families to prefer informal alternatives that foster retention and engagement. These findings challenge dominant assumptions about the superiority of formal education and underscore the need for more inclusive, flexible, and contextually responsive approaches to refugee education in Lebanon and beyond.

This article examines the challenges faced by the English language teaching (ELT) field in Colombia in addressing issues of violence and social injustice through communicative skills. While Colombian education includes history and social studies courses that tackle these issues, ELT has struggled to integrate them meaningfully. To explore this gap, data were collected from a larger ethnographic project in a marginalized high school in Bogotá, where pedagogical practices centered on social justice and peace were examined. Framed by social justice and peacebuilding concepts, the study highlights how students’ understanding of these concepts is complex and interconnected. It reveals that teaching social justice and peace requires creating safe spaces for students to share their lived experiences, particularly in contexts of socioeconomic hardship. The article discusses the potential of language education to promote peace by fostering critical thinking and empowering students to engage with pressing social issues in conflict-affected settings.

This essay examines the central contradiction at the core of our public schooling system in the US: antidemocratic schools in a democratic society. Starting with Dewey, scholars have called for more democracy in our educational institutions, however, very few public schools in the US operate on democratic principles where students are directly involved in the shared decision making of school governance. Analyzing the links between democracy, education, and inequality, this essay explores the way notions of freedom and the problem of enduring inequality impede democratic participation and often promote a narrow vision of education aimed at preparing students for the workforce. The study ends with an examination of what educators can learn about improving schools and democracy from historical efforts within the Black Freedom Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This study highlights the Citizenship Schools and the Freedom Schools, both grassroots models of democratic schooling linked to the Civil Rights Movement that aimed to bring more economic and social justice, as well as more democracy to schools and society.