Social Justice Learning Research Articles

Sustainable meaningful learning through the tree of knowledge: a teaching project for Nepal

Introduction: The climate crisis and social justice are at the focus of UNESCO's 2030 Agenda, which presents 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) as a roadmap for the preservation of the planet. From the educational field, its achievement can be promoted through the design of educational projects that promote sustainable meaningful learning (SML) hand in hand with learning for social justice (LSJ). In this context, an innovative teaching practice was developed in 2021-22 using biosphere reserves in Nepal, in which students from the International Primary Education Teacher Degree Program designed teaching materials to be offered to nearby primary schools in Nepal, close to the selected biosphere reserve. Methodology: The students built knowledge models based on conceptual maps about the selected biosphere reserve, creating teaching units with activities aimed at students in Nepal. A tree of knowledge was also designed that summarized the joint project as a metacognitive tool for sustainable meaningful learning. Results: For the evaluation, a double rubric was used that analysed both the oral defence of the project and the different sections of the UD, and personal reflections were analysed, as well as the learning results and motivation. Discussion: Sustainable meaningful learning together with learning for social justice and the didactic tools that were used are very valid methodologies to stimulate international cooperation and promote meaningful, autonomous, motivating and sustainable learning.

The Social Justice Educational Assessment Scale: Filling a Gap in Social Justice Education Assessment and Evaluation

Nationally recognized social justice standards guide educators in developing social justice education. Absent from the guidance are tools to conduct initial formative assessment or to measure the impact of related instruction. To fill that gap, an academic researcher and 10th-grade teacher used a 3-phased, 9-step process to develop, pilot test, and evaluate a self-assessment tool called the Social Justice Educational Assessment Scale (SJEAS). In Phase 1, the team created the SJEAS items, aligning each with the Learning for Justice 9th–12th-grade social justice learning outcomes to ensure content validity. In Phase 2, they pretested the questions, revised the scale, and administered it to 322 student participants. Next, they conducted inter-item and total-item correlation tests and principal component analysis to ensure internal consistency. In Phase 3, they evaluated the SJEAS. Preliminary results indicate the SJEAS could provide educators and curriculum coordinators with a practical formative assessment and impact evaluation tool for social justice education aligned with nationally recognized learning outcomes. Complementary data, including classroom assignments and student discussions, would further enhance its value.

Mengintegrasikan Pendidikan Multikultural dalam Upaya Resolusi Konflik Etnis

This research elucidates the crucial role of education in addressing ethnic conflicts through the integration of a multicultural approach into the curriculum and learning processes. It is a literature review analyzing scholarly articles, books, and previous research related to efforts to integrate multicultural education for achieving ethnic conflict resolution. The findings reveal several key aspects: cultural identity awareness, inclusive learning, intercultural dialogue, and education for social justice. Firstly, multicultural education aids in understanding and appreciating cultural identities, reducing ethnic stereotypes. Secondly, inclusive curriculum ensures equal representation for various ethnic groups. Thirdly, intercultural dialogue promotes communication and understanding among ethnic groups. Fourthly, multicultural education aims to create a fair and equal environment, minimizing inequalities that may trigger conflicts. In conclusion, integrating multicultural education into ethnic conflict resolution is vital for creating a harmonious and peaceful society. The significance of cultural identity awareness, inclusive learning, intercultural dialogue, and social justice underscores the essential steps toward achieving these goals. Implementing this approach in the education system can positively contribute to reducing ethnic conflicts and promoting peace at the local, national, and global levels.

Attempting affirmative political ecologies: Collective transformative learning for social justice in Nepal's community forestry

Whilst political ecology scholarship has contributed much to articulating social injustices associated with Nepal's community forestry, here we took a different approach, by attempting an 'affirmative political ecology.' We drew on feminist and activist scholarship to inspire collective action that engaged directly with challenges of social justice and those charged with delivering it through their work. Guided by theories and practices of 'transformative learning' and a range of associated reflective practices, our participatory action research involved 4 facilitators and (up to) 25 participants who work across Nepal's forest bureaucracy (and for some, the wider community-based natural resource management sector). Together physically, remotely and through our writing, we reflect upon the operation of power in our professional – and personal – lives, exploring how that may enable a more informed and meaningful engagement with social justice within the workplace, and beyond. This article presents the process of our collective reflection and learning, and shares some of its initial outcomes based on the experiences of the 15 co-authors. Whilst 'simply' having the time and space to come together was hugely important, it was the form and feel of that space that was particularly significant, as we focused on co-creating a safe space which was non-judgmental and based on mutual respect, enabling comfortable and open discussion of often unspoken and uncomfortable issues. Ultimately, this article argues that collective practices of reflection and transformative learning can create shared learning, understanding, empathy and solidarity, and thus that it offers hope in the face of on-going social injustices. It therefore urges political ecologists to work towards such caring and affirmative collective engagements with practitioners as one way in which to affect change.

Vignettes for Social Justice Learning

ABSTRACT This paper presents a classroom exercise using six open-ended and non-directive vignettes developed as part of a larger research study on the effects of active learning on values, compassion, and action. The vignettes are a useful tool for teaching about paths to social justice and ways to address systemic inequalities. Students are asked to review hypothetical third-person scenarios then respond with suggestions for what action should or could be taken in that scenario and why. This approach allows students to consider the contextual micro and macro facets of a social encounter and offers faculty the opportunity to incorporate theoretical application and highlight connections to broader social forces. Used as an active learning exercise, group discussion of the vignettes provides a platform for students to explore how individual agency is connected to both reinforcing and challenging structural arrangements via social action. Full vignettes, examples of student feedback on the activity, and suggestions for variations in classroom use are included.

Getting comfortable with discomfort: supporting primary science teacher educators’ capacity for socially just pedagogy

ABSTRACT Despite longstanding calls for social justice-oriented teaching, there remains limited understanding of how to achieve it. This paper reports findings from a research-development project that explored the experiences of UK-based primary science teacher educators participating in a nine-month equity-oriented professional development programme and offers insights for supporting teacher learning for social justice. Analysis of written reflections and open-ended interviews with 15 teacher educators identified three types of reflection that supported justice-oriented practice: personal privilege in relation to race, class, gender and science; the norms and values of educational professional development; and practical implementation of justice-orientated professional development with teachers and schools. We discuss the importance of creating safe and brave spaces for critical reflection for primary science teacher educators and highlight the productive potential of experiences of discomfort that generated humility, empathy and insights that resulted in more equitable practice. The paper underlines the value of supporting educators to embrace discomfort as part of social justice-orientated professional development and calls for a greater valuing of and support for expanded models of professional development that foreground critical reflection and go beyond ‘top tips’, ‘quick fixes’, and dominant norms around professional ‘politeness’.

Incorporating social justice learning into competency-based graduate nursing: A discussion of integrating pedagogies.

The impact of social inequity on the collective health of a society is well documented and, despite decades of research, the problem persists on a global scale. Nurse practitioners are competent to treat the downstream health effects of social inequity, but nursing students may lack the structural awareness to accurately target primary prevention efforts. The authors discuss faculty preparation and pedagogical considerations when incorporating social justice learning into a graduate and post-graduate psychiatric nurse practitioner course. Guided by Walter's Emancipatory Nursing Praxis model, several pedagogical strategies were developed to enhance graduate nursing students' awareness of oppressive and unjust realities in the healthcare setting. Emancipatory pedagogical strategies in competency-based graduate nursing education can enhance the transformative social learning essential for the development of health equity praxis.

Academic identity and “education for sustainable development”: a grounded theory

The research described in this article set out to explore the nature of higher education institutions’ commitment to teaching for social, environmental and economic justice in the context of the SDGs and to develop a theory of this phenomenon to support further research. The research used grounded theory methodology and took place over a two-month period in 2023. Cases were collected in four universities in New Zealand, India and Sweden and included interviews with individuals, participation in group activities including a higher education policy meeting, seminars and workshops, unplanned informal conversations, institutional policy documents and media analyses in the public domain. Cases were converted to concepts using a constant comparative approach and selective coding reduced 46 concepts to three broad and overlapping interpretations of the data collected, focusing on academic identity, the affective (values-based) character of learning for social, environmental and economic justice, and the imagined, or judged, rather than measured, portrayal of the outcomes or consequences of the efforts of this cultural group in teaching contexts. The grounded theory that derives from these three broad interpretations suggests that reluctance to measure, monitor, assess, evaluate, or research some teaching outcomes is inherent to academic identity as a form of identity protection, and that this protection is essential to preserve the established and preferred identity of academics.

Whole-institution approach to social justice education for preservice teachers

PurposeThis study used the design process (analysis, development, and evaluation) to understand and refine the process, dimensions, and outcomes of a multi-year, whole-institution approach to social justice education for preservice teachers (PSTs) at one institution. The authors used shared governance to establish a cross-disciplinary faculty-student learning community and provided interdisciplinary social justice learning opportunities to PSTs across multiple years. These were delivered using high-impact practices such as community-engaged learning and ePortfolios.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used formative data to examine and refine this study's program design. The authors assessed engagement within and across the components of the whole-institution approach and the impact on, and change in, social justice learning and orientation for PSTs.FindingsFindings showed deepened engagement within and across the components of the whole-institution approach, however, committee representation, opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, and coordinated field experiences are areas that can be strengthened. All PSTs demonstrated an understanding of the connections between annual social justice foci and teaching practices, and some documented growth in social justice awareness over time. The authors found more clarity is needed around archiving and keeping social justice event reflections in the ePortfolio each year.Originality/valueThis study adds to the existing literature by using the design process to refine the development of a whole-institution social justice education program for PSTs.

Centering social justice in undergraduate social work education: a scoping review of pedagogical methods of teaching

ABSTRACT Social justice is a foundational social work value. Scholars express ongoing pedagogical challenges with how to teach students to embody social justice values. New to the social work profession, undergraduate students are in a pivotal stage to be trained as social-justice oriented future social workers. The aim of this review is to map empirical studies on teaching methods that translate social justice value into teachable curricula. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework, we conducted a rigorous process in which we screened 5,953 studies and included a final 41 studies. We synthesized them into the domain, characteristics, types, and sites of social justice training in the curriculum, targets of social justice competencies, and evaluation of the teaching methods. Our findings identified four main teaching approaches: case-based learning, community engaged learning, intergroup dialogue, and simulation-based learning. In terms of competency development, most of the studies focused on awareness and knowledge versus skill building. Most included studies underlined the value of experiential learning and suggested making a fine balance between eliciting and addressing learners’ emotional experiences during social justice learning activities. Pedagogical challenges and future considerations of social justice teaching methods are presented.

Raising Critical Language Awareness in a Translanguaging-Infused Teacher Education Course: Opportunities and Challenges

ABSTRACT In this classroom-based qualitative study, we examine how a small group of content area teacher candidates developed emerging critical language awareness (CLA) during one graduate-level translanguaging-infused teacher education course on multilingual theories and practices. The findings point out the potential of translanguaging in prompting spontaneous reflections on pre-service teachers’ personal experiences with language and languaging, paving way for them to critically rethink the status of English in teaching, learning, and communication for social justice. Yet, although teacher candidates demonstrated their emerging CLA as manifested at the ideological level, they encountered difficulties enacting critical translanguaging into practice. In their lesson plans, English was largely positioned as the end goal of content-area education and translanguaging was often reduced to a translation strategy to scaffold academic language development. Based on the findings, we propose suggestions for teacher education course design and advocate for program-wide efforts in sustaining and strengthening CLA across the curriculum.

Overcoming Barriers to Social Justice Learning in Multicultural Counselor Education

Overcoming Barriers to Social Justice Learning in Multicultural Counselor Education

Relationships and reciprocity in learning: a Palestine field trip for social work and youth and community students

For over ten years now, social work and youth and community students from a university in England have travelled to Palestine to be hosted by families and conduct a study tour of the West Bank. They have visited governors in the West Bank, community centres, camp committees, art centres, social work agencies, museums and faith and political heritage sites across the West Bank and Jerusalem. This article reports on the reciprocity between host families and university staff in addressing student learning for social justice in a community that seeks international recognition and action in respect of the injustices of an illegal occupation. We argue that the goals of the host community in respect of extending their voice and reaching a constituency beyond their borders are compatible with experiential learning goals for students in developing political and cultural awareness through engaging with community experiences of responses to social injustice.

A many‐splendored thing? Transformative learning for social justice

AbstractThis article critically reviews literature dealing with transformative learning and social justice. Based on a review of literature from major journals and conference proceedings concerned with transformative learning it offers an assessment of the significance of social justice research in the wider field. It describes how social justice is envisaged and approached theoretically, methodologically, and thematically in the reviewed publications. The article also critically assesses the strengths and limitations of research on this topic and offers some suggestions on how research on this topic might be advanced in the future.

A qualitative metasynthesis of teacher educator self-studies on social justice: Articulating a social justice pedagogy

Teacher preparation programs are vital to facilitating the development of teacher candidates who have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that align with a social justice approach to teaching. However, enacting teacher preparation for social justice will necessitate teacher educators with sophisticated expertise. To gain insight into this enactment, we engaged in a qualitative metasynthesis of teacher educator self-studies about teacher preparation for social justice. Teacher educator self-studies serve as a context for teacher educators to study and problematize their practice while also contributing to the larger teacher education literature base. The qualitative metasynthesis examined 65 teacher educator self-studies from 1992 to 2021 across journal articles, books, and conference proceedings. The analysis and synthesis of the teacher educator self-studies resulted in naming three components necessary for facilitating teacher candidate social justice learning within the context of teacher preparation: 1) Centralizing the Lens of Identity, 2) Classroom Environment Conducive to Social Justice Learning, and 3) Pedagogical Practices to Promote Critical Consciousness and Praxis. Within each of these components are high-leverage practices and routines of practice that can be utilized to enact that component. Taken together, the findings result in a framework for a pedagogy of teacher education for social justice rather than focusing solely on what teacher candidates need to know and be able to do. The findings have implications for teacher educator professional learning, program design, and future approaches to research.

Podcasting for Social Justice: An Interview Series

Podcasts support inclusivity and access in classrooms in several ways. For instance, students from oral cultures or for whom English is not a first language may find listening more accessible than reading, students can multitask while listening to course material, and students can become exposed to new perspectives. Instructors should be intentional about curating diverse voices in the podcasts they assign. Furthermore, instructors can create podcasts to form a more personal connection with students in a large lecture course or online course. Finally, instructors can assign students to create a podcast as a course project, which can support students’ connections with each other and with community members, and help them see themselves as knowledge creators with perspectives worth sharing with the world. In this series, you will read about the advantages of using podcasts to support social justice in the classroom. You will hear stories from instructors and students who have used podcasting in the classroom in various ways to support social justice learning.

Embodied Social Justice Learning: Considerations for Curriculum Development and Training in Counseling Programs

Social justice curriculum development continues to be an evolving area in the educational and professional training of counselors and counseling psychologists. While many programs facilitate trainees’ exploration of social justice knowledge through infusion into multicultural counseling courses, there is a growing trend in counseling curriculum development to provide students with specific social justice-oriented awareness and approaches to advocacy. This article describes the development of two-course sequence in a mental health counseling program where trainees are introduced to multicultural and social justice content pedagogically organized around liberation and critical history frameworks. The theoretical frameworks, process of implementing specific curricular activities with a focus on a culminating service-learning experience, and strategies for enhancing social justice and advocacy curriculum development through an embodied social justice learning curricular approach are discussed. This article aims to advance curriculum development by encouraging faculty in counseling programs to consider implementing curricular activities that are guided by social justice embodiments and critical-liberatory frameworks to facilitate trainees’ social justice knowledge and their approach to advocacy in their roles as helping professionals.

Teachers of Color & Self-Efficacy in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL): Strengthening Equity-Based Approaches to SEL

This article examines teacher self-efficacy in social and emotional learning (SEL), particularly by teachers of color, and the conditions that shaped their efficacy beliefs. Data are drawn from surveys with two teacher groups, one comprised of teachers of color and a comparative group that was predominantly white. Surveys were followed by interviews and observations with teachers in each group. Findings showed that teachers of color reported stronger efficacy beliefs in SEL and described practices that centered racial justice. Differences in efficacy are attributed to a social justice learning community that provided efficacy-forming experiences for teachers of color to enact equity-based SEL practices.

Teaching And Designing Culturally Responsive Experiences Using Cross-Media Film In Higher Education

This paper examined the pedagogical use of cross-media film in higher education, as it highlighted cross-media in implementing a Culturally Responsive approach to enhance social justice learning in the classroom. The findings demonstrated the potential of cross-media film to engage learners through cultural relevance for the 21st century. The findings also considered that the Culturally Responsive approach may constitute a fourth pillar of the three epistemologies through research and suggestions for culturally responsive teaching practices. Keywords: cross-media, culturally responsive teaching, empathy, pedagogy, social justice, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5147-157X, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1321-1870, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8478-2537

Pedagogical Methods of Teaching Social Justice in Social Work: A Scoping Review

Purpose: Social justice is a foundational social work value, but social work education continues to experience ongoing challenges with how to teach students to embody social justice values. The aim of this scoping review is to map empirical studies on teaching methods that translate social justice value into teachable curricula. Methods: Following Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework, we conducted a rigorous process in which we screened 5953 studies and included a final sample of 35 studies. Results: Our findings identified seven main teaching approaches: intergroup dialogue, online asynchronized discussion board, simulation and role play, group work and presentation, written reflection, community-engaged learning, and social action-oriented learning. In terms of competency development, most of the studies focused on awareness and knowledge versus skill-building. Most teaching methods emphasized students’ affective experiences during the social justice learning activities. Discussion: Challenges, lessons learned, and future recommendations of each teaching method are presented.