Social Justice Approach Research Articles

Engaging with the Problem (and Misframing) of Teacher Wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand: Notes for Context-Based Social Justice Approaches

Engaging with the Problem (and Misframing) of Teacher Wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand: Notes for Context-Based Social Justice Approaches

Intergovernmental discontent in rural areas: A perspective from local councils in Spain during the Great Recession

Left-behind places have gained attention during the last years and among those, particular attention has been paid to rural areas, where discontent finds anchor in an articulated narrative of distinctiveness that separates rural and urban, and on which populist parties would have tapped. Thus, rural discontent can be considered a specific expression of disaffection of left-behind places, shaped and characterised by the processes and narratives that are particular to rural areas. Understanding the social justice structure of the discontent is essential to identify the critical elements contributing to a revival of rural-urban cleavages and rethink the development paths in rural areas that feel left behind.To advance on the qualitative understanding of the configuration of the left-behind places, this contribution explores discontent among rural mayors in a Spanish region -Valencia- during the Great Recession. Building on qualitative evidence and using a social justice approach, the presentation will explore the institutional factors driving rural discontent. The results describe the emergence of rural discontent rooted in perceptions of intergovernmental inequality upon redistribution, recognition and representation issues that are shaped by demographic, political and environmental features of rurality.

Using Critical Race Mixed Methodology to Explore African American College Students’ Experiences with Racial Microaggressions

AbstractThere is a dearth of social justice or critical mixed methods research approaches, particularly in higher education. Critical Race Mixed Methodology (CRMM) is a type of critical mixed methods research that combines Critical Race Theory (CRT) and mixed methods research (DeCuir-Gunby in Educational Psychologist 55, 244-255, 2020). However, there are limited examples of CRMM within higher education research (Johnson & Strayhorn in Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 16, 539-553, 2023). Our study further operationalizes CRMM through the explication of an explanatory sequential mixed methods exploration of African American college students’ experiences with racial microaggressions, where the qualitative findings are used to expand upon the quantitative findings (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2017). The study uses Critical Race Theory (Bell, 1992; Ladson-Billings & Tate in Teachers College Record 97, 47-68, 1995; Solórzano & Huber, 2020) to focus on how African American college students’ experiencing of racial microaggressions influences their racial identity and feelings of belonging in historically white institutions (HWIs). The quantitative findings (n = 97) indicated that private regard (racial identity) protected students’ sense of belonging when experiencing racial microaggressions. The qualitative findings (n = 15) explored students’ stories regarding their experiences with racial microaggressions, focusing on their feelings of belonging. Through our discussion, we advance the use of mixed methods in higher education research to better understand the racialized experiences of African American college students and demonstrate how CRMM can be used to integrate quantitative and qualitative findings.

We Collect ‘Everything’: A Case Study of a Local Studies Collection in an Australian Public Library

ABSTRACT This paper describes research exploring a local studies collection in an Australian public library. It includes the current collecting practices and paradigms and their impact on what is added to this collection. This research was to discover how contemporary content, including items from rapid response collecting are incorporated in a local studies collection. It uses a social justice approach to investigate how current collecting practices represent the whole of the community in a public library local studies collection to provide multiple stories and perspectives. Ethnography was the research method used to enable in-depth understanding of the collecting practices of one public library. The results of the research show a tendency for library staff to rarely say no to unsolicited donations, as well as a focus on emotional and decision making based on relationships. This led to donations based on relationships and the risk of collecting from cliques and resulted in an increased cataloguing backlog for the local studies collection. The conclusion is that for more of the community to be represented in a public library local studies collection, changes in collecting practices need to be undertaken to include a social justice focus.

Exploring critical health literacy in health education: A social justice approach

Objective: To explore the perspectives and practices of high school health education teachers implementing health literacy with a focus on the social determinants of health within the context of a concern for social justice. Design: Qualitative content analysis was used to assess high school teachers’ accounts of the practices used to teach health education in line with their professional preparation, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards, the textbook(s) used and the district’s health education curriculum. Setting: A large urban independent school district in southern Texas, USA. Method: Six high school health education teachers’ interviews were analysed using the social ecological framework and a social justice framework to identify themes that aligned with the teaching practices used to facilitate critical health literacy. Results: Although teachers were unfamiliar with the term Social Determinants of Health, they were able to speak to the challenges that their students faced in everyday life. The need for support and the remedying of knowledge deficits were two important themes. Conclusion: Health education teachers often lack the preparation to teach about the social determinants of health in a manner that resonates with students’ backgrounds. The current TEKS standards provide insufficient guidance, emphasising kinesiology, diet and movement over a focus on critical health literacy and the social determinants of health, resulting in a limited and inadequate curriculum for high school students.

Evaluation of the Arthur Project: Evidence-Based Mentoring in a Social Work Framework with a Social Justice Approach

Low-income students from underrepresented communities experience significant educational inequalities, including chronic absenteeism, mental health crises, trauma exposure, and social injustices. These conditions escalate risks of dropping out and justice system involvement. Middle-school youth must navigate intense social and emotional change. To address such challenges, The Arthur Project (TAP) provides intensive, in-school, therapeutic mentoring and family support. The program teaches students essential life skills, such as problem-solving, communication, and academic engagement. Students are empowered to strengthen their resilience, perseverance, self-actualization, and confidence. TAP provides up to 500 h of therapeutic mentoring yearly over three years, delivered individually and in small groups by social work interns. The research question was as follows: Does structured, intensive in-school therapeutic mentoring with social work interns increase the socioemotional, cognitive, noncognitive, and academic skills and engagement of underserved middle-school students? This evaluation for the school year 2022–2023 is based on the program of 200 students and 30 mentors, with quantitative mentee, mentor, teacher, and caregiver surveys and qualitative interview data. The program and evaluation methodology are described, with results and conclusions. Students showed significant improvement in all domains; mentors reported student increases in confidence, perseverance, problem-solving, and communication; and teachers and caregivers reported students’ increased academic engagement. The Arthur Project program can become a national middle-school mentoring model to address widespread student inequalities.

Development and Unfolding of the Life Course Movement in the Field of Maternal and Child Health: An Oral History.

A life course perspective in maternal, child, and family health allows for integrated exploration of outcomes, incorporating multifactorial determinants of health to interrogate sources of inequity and identify opportunities for intervention. This article explores the historical development, integration, and implications of the contemporary life course perspective in the field of maternal and child health (MCH), and particularly the people and events which institutionalized the framework as central to national and local MCH practice and research over the last decades. Drawing on an oral history approach, key leaders of the life course movement in MCH were interviewed. Lived experiences and personal recollections of six interviewees were recorded and synthesized using a narrative descriptive approach to portray the social ecology of the movement's origins. We documented systematic efforts made in the first two decades of the 21st century to consciously promote life course through convening a National MCH Life Course Invitational Meeting, incorporating life course as a foundational framework for strategic planning at the Maternal Child Health Bureau, and development of tools and resources by MCH professional organizations. The integration of life course theory into the MCH field signified a major shift towards addressing protective and social factors, which aligns with the field's historical emphasis on social justice and rights-based approaches, and parallels the broader public health movement towards social determinants of health and the need to address structural racism. The ongoing relevance of the life course approach in promoting reproductive justice and addressing inequities in health underscores the historical importance of its adoption and use in the current mainstream of MCH research, policy, and practice.

Indigenous language and social justice as recognition: a participatory study with a Mapuce school

ABSTRACT The structure of the national educational system negatively affects the recognition of indigenous Mapuce people, who have been affected with regards to love, equal treatment and social esteem, as understood from the social justice approach of recognition described by Axel Honneth. This is evident in the indigenous knowledge and practices that have been removed from the Chilean school curriculum. This research was carried out through a participatory study using the dialogic-kishu kimkelay ta che methodology, forming a research community with professors, kimces and academics. The results relay, from the voices of the community, the work developed to reverse injustices such as disparagement toward the indigenous language at school, this was achieved through actions for reciprocal recognition based on the incorporation of educational practices associated with the language regarding sonority, nature and territory.

Disentangling Support for Violent and Non-violent Radicalization among Adolescents: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Although support for violent and non-violent radicalization can co-occur, only a few adolescents who support non-violent radicalization also support or engage in violent acts. Yet, little is known about what factors are associated with adolescents' paths towards or away from violent and/or non-violent radicalization. Within a socio-ecological and positive youth development framework, this study investigates profiles of support for violent and non-violent radicalization among adolescents attending high schools in Quebec (Canada) and whether such profiles are differently associated with experiences of social adversity, school-, family- and peer-related factors and psychological distress. Adolescents (N = 1911; Mage = 15.7; SDage = 0.98; 48.7% girls) completed an online survey during school hours. A Latent Profile Analysis on scores of support for violent and non-violent radicalization was conducted. A multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the associations between profiles and variables of interest. We identified six profiles of adolescents. The heterogeneity of profiles suggested multiple and complex combinations of support for violent and non-violent radicalization as well as their co-existence in some but not all profiles. Adolescents who reported less discrimination, more positive school experiences and more family support were less likely to belong to profiles that supported violence. Primary prevention efforts in the field of support for violent radicalization must adopt a socio-ecological and social justice approach and consider the diversity of adolescents' profiles, attitudes and experiences.

Integrating the Light and the Dark: Exploring Burnout Experience and Adjustment Process of Social Justice Approach Counseling Psychologist

社會正義取向的諮商模式是以改善個案受到的壓迫狀態為目標，過程往往需投入許多心力，因此諮商心理師容易處於專業耗竭的狀態，調適專業耗竭成為諮商心理師必經的挑戰。本研究的目的在探討社會正義取向的諮商心理師其專業耗竭經驗、因應專業耗竭的策略以及因應專業耗竭的調適歷程。本研究邀請三位採社會正義取向的諮商心理師參與研究，以敘說研究法作為研究方法，並以多元文化諮商與社會正義諮商的觀點來論述研究參與者進行倡導的經驗樣態，研究結果分為三部分，第一部分為「社會正義取向之諮商心理師的專業耗竭經驗」包含：1.社會倡導的連續性工作，增加專業耗竭發生頻率；2.無極限的倡導工作，瀕臨極限的倡導者。研究結果第二部分為「社會正義取向之諮商心理師的專業耗竭調適策略」包含：1.多元觀點的理解與行動是渡過「無力無望感」的利器；2.接納自身限制，找回意義感的自我照顧。研究結果第三部分為「社會正義取向之諮商心理師的專業耗竭調適歷程」包含：1.覺察專業耗竭的發生；2.暫停/減少倡導工作；3.自我反思/沉澱時期；4.整理專業耗竭中的好與不好經驗；5.重新找到新的倡導信念；6.繼續開展倡導工作。<p>The social justice approach counseling aims to improve the oppressive state of the client, and the process requires a lot of effort. Therefore, counseling psychologists are prone to burnout, and adjusting burnout has become an inevitable challenge for counseling psychologists. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of burnout, the strategies and the adjustment process of coping with burnout among counseling psychologists with the social justice approach. This study invited three counseling psychologists as research participants and adopted the narrative research method. This study revealed the advocacy experience from multicultural counseling and social justice counseling perspectives. The research outcomes of the burnout experience of the participants were as follows: (1) The continuous work of social advocacy increases the frequency of professional burnout. (2) Unlimited advocacy work and advocates who are on the verge of limits. The coping strategies were as follows: (1) The understanding and action of multiple perspectives is a sharp tool to overcome the "powerlessness and hopelessness"; (2) Accepting one’s limit and finding meaning in self-care. In addition, the adjustment processes of the participants were as follows: (1) Be aware of professional burnout; (2) Pause/reduce advocacy works; (3) Self-reflection/thinking period; (4) Sort out good and bad experiences in professional burnout; (5) Find the new advocacy beliefs; (6) Restart advocacy work.</p> <p> </p>

Towards a social harm approach in drug policy

In this paper, we explore how the social harm approach can be adapted within drug policy scholarship. Since the mid-2000s, a group of critical criminologists have moved beyond the concept of crime and criminology, towards the study of social harm. This turn proceeds decades of research that highlights the inequities within the criminal legal system, the formation of laws that protect the privileged and punish the disadvantaged, and the systemic challenge of the effectiveness of retribution and punishment at addressing harm in the community. The purpose of this paper is to first identify parallels between the social harm approach and critical drug scholarship, and second to advocate for the adoption of a social harm lens in drug policy scholarship. In the paper, we draw out the similarities between social harm and drug policy literatures, as well as outline what the study of social harm can bring to an analysis of drug policy. This includes a discussion on the ontology of drug crime, the myth of drug crime and the ineffective use of the crime control system in response to drug use. The paper then discusses how these conversations in critical criminology and critical drugs scholarship can be brought together to inform future drug policy research. This reflection details the link between social harm and the impingement of human flourishing, explores the role of decolonizing drug policy, advocates for the centralization of lived experience within the research process and outlines how this might align with harm reduction approaches. We conclude by arguing that the social harm approach challenges the idea that neutrality is the goal in drug policy and explicitly seeks to expand new avenues in activist research and social justice approaches to policymaking.

Exploring How Gender and Culture Shape the Lived Experiences of Indian Clients with Emotional Abuse: A Social Justice Approach to Counselling

Exploring How Gender and Culture Shape the Lived Experiences of Indian Clients with Emotional Abuse: A Social Justice Approach to Counselling

Learning contexts and visions for STEM in schools

ABSTRACT STEM education is viewed as being vital for economic prosperity and productivity; and can contribute productively to changing technological, economic, and social demands of the twenty-first Century. However, there is limited consensus on how STEM education is understood and taught, and inadequate discussion around its role in addressing global issues such as climate change, health, poverty, food security, and other STEM-related social concerns. In this paper, we identify the contexts adopted for STEM teaching and learning in 47 Australian schools, drawing data from semi-structured interviews with principals and teachers who participated in the Principals as STEM Leaders (PASL) project. These data were categorised according to four visions for STEM education that align with different levels of social justice and activist approaches to STEM teaching and learning. Findings indicate that STEM education in Australia is predominantly enacted through instrumental ‘products and processes’ approaches dominated by robotics and coding. Learning contexts had minimal ‘real-life’ applications and were devoid of social and ethical dimensions of STEM applications that would better equip students with the knowledge, skills, and agency to make informed, socially just decisions about their own and others’ futures, and that of our shared environment.

An examination of a values‐engaged, educative evaluation at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao

AbstractExaminations of culture and cultural responsiveness within evaluations have gained traction, successes and challenges working with Latino/a/e communities have been well‐documented, and considerations for working with this community have been put forth. However, evaluation literature examining culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) and social justice approaches within Latino/a/e contexts is still relatively nascent. In this article, we reflect upon an evaluation of a project at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. We present three key lessons learned. (1) Having the right evaluation team is critical. There is a need for team members with evaluation expertise and cultures and lived experiences similar to those of the participants. (2) Developing an understanding of the context is an important and continuously evolving task. (3) Culturally commensurate instruments and reports are a non‐negotiable aspect of culturally responsive evaluation work within Latino/a/e communities. We conclude with actionable strategies when working in similar contexts.

Understanding how gay men construct ‘good’ chemsex participation using critical discursive psychology

ABSTRACT Research to date has focused on the potential issues arising from chemsex and often seeks to uncover what is ‘wrong’ with those who are motivated to engage in chemsex. Critical chemsex studies reaches beyond this harm-orientated focus and instead adopts a social justice approach that recognises chemsex participants as legitimate sexual citizens. The present study – comprising eight interviews with gay men living in Ireland – is situated within this critical research praxis. Using a critical discursive psychology framework, our analysis demonstrates how participants draw on various interpretative repertoires to discursively negotiate chemsex identities in a bid to position themselves in a culturally intelligible manner. Participants deployed three key repertoires, centred around (i) harm, (ii) essentialism, and (iii) ethics. These repertoires are deployed in an interweaving manner to ultimately construct a dynamic, hierarchal continuum of chemsex participants – from flourishing, to flailing. Our analysis demonstrates how chemsex participants construct ‘other’ chemsex users as ‘flailing’ towards the bottom of the continuum by mobilising repertoires that draw upon prevailing moralistic notions of ‘good’ sexual citizenship. We argue that the mainstream construction of chemsex as inevitably harmful is restrictive and produces a deficit understanding of chemsex participants, and discuss the possibilities for discursively reimagining chemsex participation.

Is meaningful physical education and social justice a complimentary combination? A physical education teacher educator collaborative self-study

ABSTRACT Background Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) programmes are expected to support future teacher learning about contemporary innovations and big ideas for teaching physical education. Teacher educators are challenged to learn about and incorporate contemporary innovations while maintaining programme cohesion. Exploring how teacher educators make sense of and teach about innovations, such as ideas related to meaningfulness, alongside foundational ideas, such as social justice, can provide insight on teacher educator pedagogies and their professional development journeys. Purpose This study explored the concepts of and relationship between Meaningful PE and social justice in our teacher education pedagogies when implemented in combination. We pay particular attention to when ideas of Meaningful PE and social justice were complementary, overlapping and when they were distinctive. Method A self-study of teacher education practices methodology supported four teacher educators to collectively and individually interrogate our evolving understanding, decisions and practices across a 13-month period. [Loughran, J. 2014. “Professionally Developing as a Teacher Educator.” Journal of Teacher Education 65 (4): 271–283] signposts for teacher educator professional development provided theoretical guidance to make sense of our experiences combining the two pedagogies. This paper focuses on the recordings of collective meetings (n = 9, over 12 h) where we shared and analysed experiences, raised questions and formulated developing understandings of the relationship between teaching for meaningfulness and social justice approaches. Data analysis involved thematic analysis methods to review all data and collective identification and refinement of themes through back-and-forth discussion. Findings From the thematic analysis, the following themes were co-created: (a) Meaningful PE can act as social justice but is not social justice per se; and (b) the combination of Meaningful PE and social justice facilitates a dance between ‘the individual’ and ‘the social’ with democratic and reflective practices as the choreography. These features of the relationship provide direction and encouragement to combining Meaningful PE and social justice ideas in teacher education pedagogies. Conclusions Through cycles of experiencing and articulating, we made sense of the relationship between Meaningful PE and social justice. Our story highlights the value of teacher educators engaging with knowledge and practice of teaching about teaching and learning about teaching in the context of innovation.

A social justice perspective on the delivery of family support

Family support as an approach to working with children, youth, parents, and families is widely practiced across Europe albeit with a range of diverse meanings and interpretations. This paper responds to this ambiguity and provides a conceptual understanding of the delivery of family support in Europe. In doing so it applies a social justice approach critically examining the extent to which Family Support reflects the right of families, children, youth, and parents to be supported. It identifies and critically examines similarities and differences in the meaning and application of family support as a key concept in the European context. It is based on a comprehensive review of literature, mapping multi-disciplinary approaches to the provision of support, based on academic material from 2015 to 2020 and adopting a broad and inclusive definition of family. The paper considers the complexities in developing a universally accepted understanding of family support that: has value for practitioners and managers; is selected as a focus by policy makers; is open to evaluation and research; is compatible with academic research; and most importantly provides responsive and effective support to children, youth, parents and families.

A social justice approach to develop intercultural communicative competence

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of implementing a social justice culture curriculum on learners’ development of the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and on their desire to continue learning Spanish. Two types of culture instruction—a traditional curriculum centered around foreign Spanish-speaking countries and an experimental curriculum focused on US Hispanic/Latinx communities—were implemented in third and fourth Spanish courses at a US university in the Southwest. A survey was developed to measure participants’ (n = 264) ICC and intention to continue learning Spanish. Results indicate that both types of culture curriculum have a positive impact in the development of ICC cognitive domain, but only the US Hispanic/Latinx curriculum fosters development of the affective domain. None of the curricula impacted ICC behavioral domain or participants intention to continue studying Spanish. These results offer insights into ICC developmental path and provide evidence of the connection between the deforeignization of the curriculum and cognitive and affective dimensions of language learning.

School teachers’ unions social justice approach in top-bottom decision-making process: A case study of school teachers’ unions in Northern Pakistan

Top-down decision-making process has revealed several challenges in educational reforms in North-West part of Pakistan. Political bosses and bureaucrats have often placed an authoritarian decision-making process where school reforms are implemented without much consultation with school teachers’ unions. Given the continued need of school teachers’ unions being one of the main stakeholders, it is necessary to examine the perspectives and experiences of the leadership of school teachers’ unions’ who work hard to make niche on the basis of social justice approach in the top bottom decision making process and to identify ways to implement democratic decision making process. The purpose of the current exploratory qualitative study was to investigate school teachers’ unions’ leadership experiences in the top bottom decision making process, and their overall perspectives on the school-based reforms. This paper explores the perspectives and experiences of five most influential school teachers’ unions’ leaders regarding the nature of the decision-making process. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that leaders faced several challenges in making their voices count in the current decision-making mechanism. Findings revealed the top-bottom decision-making mechanism is based on vested interests, disregarding the ground realities. School teachers’ unions challenge the top bottom approach and support initiatives for evidence-based knowledge, arranging conferences and debates, using print and electronic media to convey their views. They are also use strikes and demonstrations as their last option. The study implies that there is a need for a democratic decision-making mechanism where the input from the school teachers’ unions is given due consideration in school based reforms.

ГРОМАДСЬКИЙ ТРАНСПОРТ: ОРГАНІЗАЦІЙНО-ЕКОНОМІЧНІ І СОЦІАЛЬНІ ЗАСАДИ ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ

The article shows that the integral function of public transport is to promote social justice, accessibility of transport services for the general population and environmental sustainability. The public transport system has been proven to be efficient and competitive by helping to reduce congestion, pollution and social isolation, as well as ensuring accessibility to transport services and mobility for all city residents. Strategies for overcoming the shortcomings of the fixed infrastructure of public transport in terms of smart planning, implementation of flexible management systems, constant renewal and modernization are justified. It has been proven that the following will contribute to improving the mobility of city residents and reducing the problem of disconnection between different transport subsystems: integrated payment through the introduction of a single ticket system or cashless payment technologies; development of transplant nodes; facilitating movement between different public transport systems; integrated planning of urban development by taking into account the interaction of different types of transport. Ways to improve the pricing mechanism for public transport services based on the introduction of social justice approaches to their pricing and tariff differentiation are proposed. The importance of ensuring the effectiveness of the use of subsidies to support public transport in terms of its accessibility as a socio-economic type of activity for city residents has been proven. It is shown that the development of supporting subsystems of public transport management in large cities of Ukraine will be facilitated by the implementation of measures to ensure its availability, efficiency and sustainability. Public feedback has been proven to be an important component of effective urban public transport management and helps create a more efficient, accessible and convenient transport system for all city residents. It is also shown that the creation of a single public transport management body in the city will ensure a holistic approach to planning routes, transport schedules and tariffs, which will contribute to a more efficient and convenient service for city residents.