Social Justice Learning Research Articles

Principles of antiracist social emotional justice learning

ABSTRACT COVID-19 has increased the emphasis on social emotional learning (SEL) in our schools. Unfortunately, the current approaches to SEL can often perpetuate racial hierarchies, apply a deficit lens toward students, and emphasize the need for student-level change while ignoring the historical, social, and cultural influences that created and actively maintain oppressive environments through which students are required to navigate. Therefore, the authors offer an Antiracist Social Emotional Justice Learning (ASEJL) approach for educators to apply to promote freedom and justice for students through empowerment, hope, and joy. The AEJL approach emphasizes applying Critical Theoretical Frameworks, Anti-Bias Building Blocks, Student and Family Voice, Strengths Based Empowerment, and Homeplace to combat the current colorblind approach to SEL while cultivating the interests and talents of students and families from diverse backgrounds.

An Arts-Based Anti-Discriminatory Approach to Online Nursing Education: Reducing Addiction Stigma and Meeting Social Justice Learning Outcomes

Addiction stigma exists in health care systems among health care providers, including nursing students. It is often tied to knowledge deficits and acts as a barrier to those seeking supportive addiction services. The purpose was to discuss innovative approaches that reduce addiction stigma and meet social justice learning outcomes in online nursing education. A four-stage algorithm was used with 95 articles. Applying an exclusion and screening process yielded 17 articles. Another 10 articles were drawn from my recent graduate work. Online educators can use artistic pedagogical technologies to practice from a critical consciousness lens to design social justice learning outcomes with an antidiscriminatory framework. An intentional and innovative framework to reduce addiction stigma in online nursing students is proposed, developed from artistic pedagogical technologies within a critical consciousness lens. This inclusive pedagogical approach is accessible to diverse twenty-first century learners, reduces addictions stigma, and leads to better-prepared nurses who deliver excellent nursing care for all.

Recruitment of International Students Through a Synthesis of English as a Second Language Instruction, Social Justice, and Service Learning

Universities across the U.S. have increasingly emphasized internationalization, leading to rising numbers of international students attending U.S. institutions of higher education. However, these students tend to gravitate toward larger research-intensive universities with many other institutions seeing no increase in international student enrollments. Little is known concerning how to attract international students to regional institutions lacking name recognition. To address the above and promote internationalization through increasing the presence of students from abroad, an academic department at a regional public U.S. college used needs analysis to develop a pilot program for Japanese university students (N = 13). The program involved a synthesis of English as a Second Language instruction, social justice as a content area, and service learning, in a two-week credit-bearing summer session course. A post-participation survey revealed highly positive reactions, particularly in terms of working with local community members, and broad agreement that the program had been life-altering. The implications for international student program development at regional institutions are discussed.

The Cost of Inclusion: How Student Conformity Leads to Inequality on College Campuses by Blake R. Silver

Reviewed by: The Cost of Inclusion: How Student Conformity Leads to Inequality on College Campuses by Blake R. Silver Laura M. Harrison Blake R. Silver. The Cost of Inclusion: How Student Conformity Leads to Inequality on College Campuses. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2020. 243 pp. $27.50. ISBN 9780226704050. In The Cost of Inclusion: How Student Conformity Leads to Inequality on College Campuses, sociologist Blake R. Silver (2020) takes the provocative position that campus involvement may not be an unequivocal force for good. While this idea may seem counterintuitive on the surface, Silver demonstrates through in-depth research that co-curricular activities often exacerbate rather than mitigate racist and sexist tropes. Through stories of students' racialized and gendered performances, Silver argues that students replicate privilege and marginalization in co-curricular spaces. The book consists of seven chapters, organized into two parts. Part 1 of the book provides rich descriptions of some of the 158 students with whom Silver connected in his year-long ethnographic study focused on three student organizations at a non-selective public university. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the study, including Silver's immersion into the three student organizations he studied: a social justice learning community, a physical fitness club, and a volunteer organization dedicated to serving children in Central America. In the three chapters that comprise the rest of Part 1, Silver organizes his research findings into themes describing roles he observed students playing based on their identities. These themes are caregivers (women), managers/educators (white men), entertainers/associates (men of color). Chapter 2 highlights the gendered aspect of this marginalization as Silver describes women students who take on caregiving roles in organizations. As anyone who has worked closely with students knows, there are those women students to whom other students refer as the "mom of the group." These students can be counted on for everything from Band-Aids to Target runs, often genuinely seeming to relish the maternal role. As one student described Jamie, the "mom" of her learning community: Jamie in the morning is, like, "Jenna, I have sweet tea." She'll bring home donuts for me…Jamie's done a lot of stuff for me, that's [End Page 590] been really nice. Jamie is such a mom. She wants to parent me, but in a nice way. She's not one of those, "Oh, you shouldn't be doing that." She's like, "Are you okay?" Also, she cooks and cleans as a stress reliever (p. 31). Jenna's point that Jamie provides the aforementioned services without the authority side of parenthood hints at a darker side of the caregiver dynamic in this situation. Silver observes that Care-givers are expected to provide for their charges selflessly. This is one of the many places in the work where the author's participant-observer eye allows for a deeper knowledge about a phenomenon than the reader might normally observe. Resident assistant and other types of peer mentorship opportunities tend to attract students who exhibit a high level of nurture. While this can present as either good or at least benign, Silver highlights the many hours caregivers spend bailing out other students, often at the expense of their own academic and personal growth. He writes of students risking run-ins with the law, taking physical risks transporting drunk individuals, and missing class due to acts of caregiving. The demands other students place on caregivers go well beyond sweet tea and donuts, culminating in "moms" feeling both underappreciated and trapped, as one such student articulated, "I feel like people take advantage—even some of my closest friends… [They ask] "Can you do this for me? Can you do that for me?" I don't like saying no" (p. 39). In Chapters 3 and 4, Silver discusses the co-curricular experiences of the Students of Color and white men he observed. While women were often restricted to caregiving roles in the groups, Silver observed that Students of Color were over-represented in the entertainer and associate roles. The Entertainers were variously described by themselves and others as boisterous, funny pranksters who could be counted on to lighten the mood. As Silver explained...

Critical Entrepreneurship Education in General Education and TVET: Two Concepts of Practice in a South African Township

Abstract This paper examines the dominant approach to entrepreneurship education in the South African education system regarding the crisis of youth unemployment. It draws on the case of the public-school sector, in conjunction with the technical vocational education and training (TVET) subsector of the post-school education sector. The comparison of the entrepreneurship education sector plan for public schools with the discourse on TVET reform shows that entrepreneurship education similarly follows the čskills perspective’ with a dominant focus on the formal economy, which is informed by a human-capital based and productivist approach to education. The authors argue that this understanding of entrepreneurship education employs a too narrow perspective on youth unemployment as it overlooks individual capabilities and agency and can contribute to an experience of youth unemployment as individual failure. The authors expand this argument by suggesting a critical entrepreneurship education approach, which is outlined based on two programmes at primary-school and post-school education (TVET) level in a poor urban area. The authors argue that a critical entrepreneurship education approach contributes to learning for capabilities, social justice and democratic citizenship.

Emotional configurations of politicization in social justice movements

PurposeThis paper aims to trace how emotion shapes the sense that is made of politics and how politicization can remake and re-mark emotion, giving it new meaning in context. This paper brings together theories of politicization and emotional configurations in learning to interrogate the role emotion plays in the learning of social justice activists.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on sociocultural learning perspectives, the paper traces politicization processes across the youth climate movement (using video-based interaction analysis) and the animal rights movement (using ethnographic interviews and participant observation).FindingsEmotional configurations significantly impacted activists’ politicization in terms of what was learned conceptually, the kinds of practices – including emotional practices – that were taken up collectively, the epistemologies that framed social justice work, and the identities that were made salient in collective action. In turn, politicization reshaped how social justice activists made sense of emotion in the course of activist practice.Social implicationsThis study is valuable for theorizing social justice learning, so social movement facilitators and educators might design spaces where learning about gender, racialization, colonialism and/or human/more-than-human relations can thrive. By attending to emotional configurations, this study can help facilitate a design that supports and sustains learning for justice.Originality/valueEmotion remains under-theorized and under-analyzed in the learning sciences, despite indications that emotion enables and constrains particular learning opportunities. This paper proposes new ways of understanding emotion and politicization as co-constitutive processes for learning scientists interested in politics and social justice.

Social Emotional Learning for Social Emotional Justice: A Conceptual Framework for Education in the Midst of Pandemics

US education is situated not only in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic but also in longstanding “pandemics” of oppression, including but not limited to systemic racism. In this paper, the authors critique the oppressive aspects of traditional SEL and introduce the concept of Social Emotional Learning for Social Emotional Justice (SEL-SEJ). An emergent concept for re-imagining SEL, SEL-SEJ is explicitly oriented toward social justice. Drawing on a decolonial understanding of “resilience,” SEL-SEJ builds from principles of reciprocity and relationships. SEL-SEJ can help educators support students, communities support educators, and school systems support communities.

Teaching about and for social justice in teacher education in Hong Kong

This paper analyses the learning impacts of a social justice learning unit, which was implemented through three lectures in each of two undergraduate teacher education courses in 2017/18 across two semesters. The design of the unit allows for social inquiry and experiential learning in the undergraduate curriculum. A sequential mixed-methods design was adopted, with pre and post questionnaire and interview data gathered from undergraduate students. We argue that learning and applying social justice concepts through group inquiry and other learning activities on social justice related issues, together with an experiential learning site visit, can facilitate the development of understanding of both the concept and application of social justice, a positive perception towards ethnic minorities and a desire for further learning and engagement in the community. This study would be useful for any university educators who want to teach about and for social justice in ways that may help students to develop an increased willingness for community service.

The soul behind the screen:understanding cultural enrichment as a motivation of informal MOOC learning

ABSTRACT This article explores the role of culture and the concept of openness as they relate to learning using a massive open online course which teaches the Irish language and Irish culture to learners around the world. It explores how best to describe the meaning of such learning, and the social, material, and relational tensions that exist in such provision. Using a qualitative case study design, we analyzed a collection of 3507 learner comments placed on key reflective steps throughout the course. From the analysis of learner experiences, motivations, and opinions, we identified five major themes. We then examined the role of inequality, social justice, and lifelong learning in light of the themes. The article concludes with recommendations for further research, in addition to reflections on the value of small-scale case studies to explore the diversity inherent in MOOC provision.

Social Justice and Dietetic Education: Are We Preparing Practitioners to Lead?

Purpose: To explore dietetic practitioners' perceptions of their education and training in the knowledge, skills, and confidence to understand social justice issues and to engage in socially just dietetic practice and social justice advocacy. Methods: An online semi-qualitative survey sent to Canadian dietitians. Results: Most respondents (n = 264; 81.5%) felt that knowledge- and skill-based learning about social justice and social justice advocacy should be a part of dietetic education and training. Reasons given by respondents for the importance of social justice learning include: client-centred care and reflexive practice, effecting change to the social and structural determinants of health, preventing dietitian burnout, and relevance of the profession. Yet, over half of respondents either strongly disagreed or disagreed that they were adequately prepared with the knowledge (n = 186; 57.4%), skills (n = 195; 60.2%), or confidence (n = 196; 60.5%) to engage in advocacy related to social justice concerns. Some questioned the practicality of adding social justice learning via additional courses to already full programs, while others proposed infusing a social justice lens across dietetic education and practice areas. Conclusions: Dietetic education and training must do more to prepare dietitians to answer calls for dietitians to engage in social justice issues through practice and advocacy.

Supporting Critical Social Analysis: Empowering Processes in a Youth Organizing Group

Critical social analysis is a foundational sociopolitical learning experience which supports youth development and social action. While practical guidance for facilitating critical social analysis exists, there is a need for empirical work exploring educator and participant experiences. To understand how urban educators implement critical social analysis and how participants experience it, reflective interviews were conducted with adult leaders and former youth organizers in Teen Advocates for Sexual Health. In a highly-segregated midwestern city, leaders engaged diverse youth in critical social analysis and social action around access to comprehensive school-based sexual health education. Three empowering interpersonal processes supported critical conversations on power, privilege, and sexual health. First, adult leaders established norms for power sharing and group communication. Second, leaders helped youth distinguish between feeling uncomfortable, integral to social justice learning, and feeling emotionally unsafe. Third, leaders supported emotional safety, allowing youth to determine their level of participation. Youth were empowered to remain engaged when uncomfortable, take action if they felt unsafe, and share responsibility for community safety. Combined with other organizing experiences, critical social analysis empowered participants as teens and contributed to adult social justice commitments. Findings contribute to literature on how urban educators can support sociopolitical development across settings.

Online learning for social justice and inclusion

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the online pedagogical practices and technological tools that influenced the attainment of skills and knowledge associated with professional multicultural competence in a graduate student online course focused on social justice and inclusion. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative case study includes a total of ten student participants. Two theoretical orientations guide the study. Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) model of technological pedagogical content knowledge is provided to understand the reciprocal relationship between content, pedagogy, knowledge and technology in online learning environments. Critical digital pedagogy (Morris and Stommel, 2018) provides insights into challenging the neutrality of technological tools and focuses on relational capacities of online learning environments. Initial coding by each researcher was reduced to thematic codes focused on technological tools, course content delivery, asynchronous and synchronous pedagogical strategies. Findings Data analysis revealed technological tools such as discussion boards, video, video conferencing and synchronous opportunities influence student engagement and learning. Further, findings reveal that the nature of online education itself – specifically asynchronocity – functions as both a distraction and possibility for online learning in multicultural education courses. Students in this study revealed the value of opportunities to engage synchronously in online learning environments. Instruction without such opportunities was disadvantageous to the learning of skills and knowledge associated with multicultural competence. Research limitations/implications The study is not generalizable to the experiences of all online students and only provides a small cross-section of online graduate students enrolled in a required diversity course at one institution. Originality/value There is a dearth of research focused on teaching courses in diversity, equity, social justice and inclusion in fully online environments, a gap this study begins to fill. The study also enhances the authors’ understanding of graduate student education.

Social Justice Learning Communities

AbstractIn this chapter, authors discuss university housing learning communities focused on social justice principles. Authors provide diverse approaches and resources for implementing social justice learning communities.

Podcasting for social justice: exploring the potential of experiential and transformative teaching and learning through social work podcasts

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of podcasting in teaching and learning for social justice, especially within schools of social work. Using a critical pedagogical teaching and learning lens within social work education, we explored the engagement of entry level Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students in learning about and creating podcasts. Students simultaneously developed social work skills such as critical thinking, understanding theory, current issues of social (in)justice, and community engagement. In the process of creating podcasts, students (1) began to develop their professional and generalist social work identity, (2) engaged with critical reflective practice, and (3) made links between structural and experiential issues related to social policy and social justice. In addition to having implications for critical social work pedagogy, we suggest that student-led podcasting can be used to promote a relationship between the academy and the community.

The secret adventures of order: globalization, education and transformative social justice learning

Existem diversas definições de globalização ou, talvez mais precisamente, pode-se dizer que há muitas globalizações. Ao discutir as quatro faces da globalização – globalização por cima, globalização por baixo, globalização dos direitos humanos e a globalização da guerra contra o terrorismo, – e seus impactos na educação e na aprendizagem, este artigo propõe uma análise da globalização neoliberal e de como reformas baseadas em competição afetaram a política educacional nos Estados Unidos desde o jardim de infância ao ensino médio, e no ensino superior. Essas reformas são caracterizadas por esforços em se criar padrões de desempenho mensuráveis a partir de extensivos testes padronizados (o movimento por novos padrões e “accountability”); pela introdução de novos métodos de ensino e aprendizagem, que trazem a expectativa de um melhor desempenho a um baixo custo (por exemplo, a universalização de livros didáticos); e por melhoras na seleção e no treinamento de professores. Reformas baseadas em competição no ensino superior tendem a adotar uma orientação vocacional e a refletir o ponto de vista de que faculdades e universidades existem largamente para servir ao bem-estar econômico de uma sociedade. A privatização é o esforço final principal por reforma ligado à globalização neoliberal e, talvez, o mais dominante. Como alternativa, o artigo proporciona introspecções às possibilidades de se empregar o conceito de marginalidade como um construto central para um modelo de aprendizagem para a transformação e justiça social. Ao seguir a inspiração de Paulo Freire, defendo que a aprendizagem para a transformação e justiça social seja uma prática social, política e pedagógica que ocorrerá quando as pessoas alcançarem um entendimento mais profundo, rico, com mais texturas e nuances de si próprias e de seu mundo.

Exploring Solidarity in Teacher Learning and Activism for Social Justice

Exploring Solidarity in Teacher Learning and Activism for Social Justice

CPI Welcomes Kathleen Sitter’s Special Issue Artistic Pedagogies in Academia

Inspired by Heron’s research on different ways of knowing, as importantly, as a result of her considerable knowledge and expertise in the field, Kathleen Sitter has designed, developed, indeed masterminded and crafted, a very special CPI issue. Textual discourses, in this issue, are often complemented by artworks. Yet, at other times, works from the visual arts occupy centre stage. Within Sitter’s issue, the range of ways of depicting not only, how one knows that one knows, as well as, the who- what- where and whys, become lively players in processes of knowledge-making. For educational purposes, the rich combination of types of texts and artworks demonstrate interactive pedagogies for teaching and learning for social justice.

Subversive Literacy: Arts-Based Learning for Social Justice, Equity, and Student Agency

The authors explore how multiple arts-based learning strategies (ABLS) provided a means to subvert traditional literacy methods.

Psychosocial and sociocultural characteristics of Nicaraguan and Costa Rican students in the context of intercultural education in Costa Rica

This article examines problems and difficulties encountered by Nicaraguan migrant students in the Costa Rican educational system and contrasts their psychosocial and sociocultural well-being with their Costa Rican counterparts. The findings reveal not only the differences in educational outcomes between these cohorts, but also exposes the prevalence of psychosocial risk behaviours related to violence, bullying, death wishes and self-injury endured by Nicaraguan students. Importantly, there appears to be a large gap between the stated objectives and policies of the Costa Rican educational system to recognise and foster intercultural understanding and tolerance, and the actual educational results of Nicaraguan students. The conclusions drawn from these case studies single out the importance of closing the gap between the well-intended national educational policies and actual educational practices at the local level in order to promote equitable and social justice learning in Costa Rica and better the chances for integration of its Nicaraguan minority.

The United Nations, peace, and higher education: Pedagogic interventions in neoliberal times

Peace and conflict studies (PACS) education in recent decades has become a popular approach to social justice learning in higher education institutions (Harris, Fisk, and Rank 1998; Smith 2007; Car...