Social Justice Framework Research Articles

Cultural and Linguistic Competency Training from a Socially Responsible Neuropsychology Model: Perspectives from Trainees

Abstract Objective The Cultural Neuropsychology Program (CNP) is the sole bilingual clinical training program specifically focused on culturally and linguistically competent neuropsychological services to the Latino/a population in the UCLA Health System. Following the Socially Responsible Neuropsychology Model (SRN; Suarez et al., 2016), trainees learn the best practices in providing equitable clinical care to all patients irrespective of their background. The current paper discusses various trainees’ professional development in the process of becoming culturally and linguistically competent clinical neuropsychologists. Method The use of case studies illustrates the competency paradigm shift trainees encounter when systematically integrating the SRN model with their clinical training. Three components of the model are emphasized: (1) integration of Etic and Emic approaches during the clinical intake, (2) merging psychometric properties with qualitative processes to compensate for the cultural-linguistic limitations of mainstream gold-standard neuropsychological tools, and (3) becoming an advocate through this social justice framework. Outcomes All trainees were previously exposed to the foundational - and typically required - knowledge-based competency model of understanding and appreciating cultural-individual differences and diversity in neuropsychology. Attaining cultural and linguistic competency through the SRN model, however, requires a salient paradigm shift in all skill-based competencies that trainees may not have been prepared for through their previous education. Discussion By presenting trainees’ perspectives regarding their professional development, the importance of the explicit and systematic integration of fundamental brain-behavior relationships with the SRN model early in graduate training is highlighted. In so doing, this approach can ultimately augment the number of culturally- and linguistically-competent neuropsychologists needed to reduce health disparities. References Suárez, P., Casas, R., Lechuga, D., Cagigas, X. Socially Responsible Neuropsychology in Action: Another Opportunity for California to Lead the Way. Feature in The California Psychologist. Fall of 2016.

Impacts of the Model Minority Myth on Asian American Individuals and Families: Social Justice and Critical Race Feminist Perspectives

Asian Americans have been portrayed as the model minority for seemingly having achieved socioeconomic success and being free of problems. Such stereotypes may have lasting and negative impact on Asian American individuals, families, and communities. Utilizing the social justice framework and critical race feminist theory, we interrogate and problematize the model minority stereotype and its impacts by situating Asian Americans in the Black‐and‐White racial hierarchy, offering a brief history of the term, providing disaggregated statistics on Asian Americans' socioeconomic conditions, reviewing recent literature on Asian Americans and their families, and discussing some consequences that this myth generates. We focus on the roles of family and community contexts and acculturation status on Asian Americans' educational achievement, gender, and psychological adjustment and mental health issues. Our review illustrates the diversity and nuance in Asian Americans' educational, psychological, social, and economic outcomes. We conclude with some recommendations for professionals working with Asian Americans.

Global Social Justice in International Tax Reform

What do we know about justice in international taxation? Justice requires a principle-based judgement on how to distribute the costs between taxpayers and the benefits between the states. This principle-based judgement has been interpreted by the doctrine through the concepts of inter-individual and inter-nation equity. The meaning and the role of equity in determining taxing rights and profit allocation between states has changed a lot in the recent decades. Globalisation, mobility of production factors and digitalisation underscore the importance of inter-nation equity in the quest for a just system of international taxation. The author of this thesis develops a politico-philosophical normative framework of global social justice and proposes an egalitarian approach to interpretation of inter-nation equity.

Reproductive justice and support for young fathers.

ABSTRACTThe current article addresses the interests and contributions of fathers to child development and well‐being within a reproductive and social justice framework. We present an overview of research on the role of fathers in the lives of children from the prenatal period through early childhood, with an emphasis on fathers as partners and caregivers in promoting the reproductive health and safety of women and the healthy development of young children. We explore especially the challenges of young, at‐risk fathers as well as system and practice opportunities that support their contributions as partners and parents. Our goal of the article is to extend the discourse on reproductive and social justice to include the shared responsibility of all parents and facilitate circumstances whereby children experience the support needed to become nurturing caregivers for the next generation.

Advancing social justice and affirming humanity in developmental science research with African American boys and young men

This commentary engages the three elements of a social justice framework in the study of African American Boys and Men’s (AABM) positive development, proposed by Barbarin, Tolan, and Gaylord-Harden (2019). In agreement with the importance of and in support of employing a social justice framework in developmental science, we offer theoretical and methodological options to advance each element. The options we describe are aimed at centering the humanity of AABM in the study of their development.

Voices heard and lessons learnt: Exploring multiple knowledges and local participation in a community-based integrated early childhood development project in rural South Africa

Abstract Following calls for diverse and contextual perspectives of the rich lives of young children, their families and communities from/in the Global South, this paper presents critical reflections emerging from a three-year (2016-2019) communitybased Integrated Approach to Early Childhood Development (ECD) project implemented in the rural Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It explores the critical relationship established between a range of stakeholders involved in this project as reflected on by two community activists working together in the area of early childhood in the province for thirty years. This article highlights the importance of situating any community development initiative aimed at addressing early childhood provision in marginalised communities within a social justice framework. This includes identifying constraints inherent in unequal relations of power that risk undermining solidarity and agency for community stakeholders. It foregrounds accountability measures that emerge from local initiatives rather than from narrow predetermined project outcomes. This provides an opportunity to learn from, and engage with, experiences from the margins, thereby challenging some dominant narratives circulating, and often informing, early childhood policy and provision.

Applying a Social Justice Framework to Photovoice Research on Environmental Issues

The need to address the environmental crisis is becoming more urgent. The consequences of unsustainable environmental practices are detrimental to the wellbeing of people globally as well as the environment. This is of concern to social workers as they recognize their role in responding to the environmental crisis and resulting social injustices. This literature review explores how the photovoice technique is being used in environmental research. By applying a social justice framework in a content analysis of the literature (N=17), we describe how photovoice is being used to promote environmental and social justice through its research processes and outcomes.

China's dusty lung crisis: Rural-urban health inequity as social and spatial injustice

This paper examines rural-urban inequities in dusty lung (pneumoconiosis) deaths in China from 2002 to 2016 and possible causes for such inequities in the framework of social and spatial justice. The research reveals alarming results that have not been reported before. Dusty lung death rates for rural men increased twice as fast as those among urban men. The rural rates were particularly higher among middle-aged men, but lower in older age groups, as compared to urban rates. There were dramatic increases in death rates from 2011 to 2016 particularly among rural men aged 40–49 years old, who were many times more likely to die from dusty lung than urban men of a similar age. Chinese rural male victims also die at a younger age, compared to men in any of the seven countries or regions included in the study. For example, rural Chinese men aged 35–59 years old were many times more likely to die from dusty lung than their American, German, Polish, and Spanish counterparts. A possible explanation for the high death rates among middle-aged rural Chinese men is the tendency for rural migrant workers to be employed in unhealthy and unsafe working conditions in decent decades. Other explanations for the severe spatial injustice include the Hukou (household registration) system and the development policies that prioritize economic growth and urban development over occupational health and safety. The paper demonstrates the usefulness and weakness of the social and spatial justice concepts in understanding health inequity. Therefore, it proposes new definitions and models of social justice and spatial justice that combine the competing distribution and capabilities approaches and highlight interactions among multiple attributes.

Promoting social justice in teaching and learning in higher education through professional development

ABSTRACT The article analyses a national professional learning programme through a social justice lens, drawing on Fraser’s framework for social justice and Moje’s distinction between socially just pedagogy and pedagogy for social justice. The South African Teaching Advancement at Universities (TAU) Fellowships Programme seeks to advance inter-institutional collaboration and social justice in teaching and learning by building a cadre of senior academics as scholars, leaders and change agents in various disciplinary fields, across all South African public universities. Fraser’s framework allows evaluation of strategies used to support participation with parity; Moje’s distinction is extended to show the interface between socially just staff development and staff development for social justice. The article analyses the substantial impact on participants through Fraser’s cultural and political dimensions, and assesses the current and cumulative impact on social justice in teaching and learning through present and planned subsequent iterations of the programme.

A holistic look at education of the Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey: policy, leadership and practice

ABSTRACT We sought to provide a holistic view of education of the Syrians under temporary protection by exploring two schooling models in terms of policy and practice for integration. Relying on social justice (SJ) framework as redistribution, recognition and representation, and on ecological framework, we adopted qualitative phenomenological approach with both interviews with principals and teachers integrating Syrian students and related policy text analysis. Our findings indicated that this is a patchy space although SJ framework is evident in the implementations of the school practitioners. Yet, the existing discrepancy between policy and practice as well as the unsystematic approach in evaluating various implementations leaves the rigor vague. Further conclusions and implications are discussed.

Social cohesion in rural Australia: Framework for conformity or social justice?

AbstractWhile social cohesion has become a commonly accepted policy goal and framework in many ethnically diverse societies, there is a general concern in some academic literature that it can be a form of governmentality that constructs manageable subjects and communities, represses diversity and distracts attention from the social, political and economic production of inequalities. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two rural Australian towns with ethnically diverse populations, this article engages with these criticisms of social cohesion while simultaneously asserting that social cohesion is viewed by local practitioners as a desirable objective for both strengthening intercultural community and addressing issues of social justice and inequality. We also aim to bring some needed clarity to relevant debates in the literature in distinguishing between social cohesion discourses used for normative and/or homogenising purposes versus frameworks developed in the academic literature with a concern for social justice and equality among diverse populations.

Innovative Strategies to Enhance Knowledge Acquisition towards Improving Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Education

The aim of this paper is to enhance nurse educator’s knowledge of innovative strategies to improved students’ learning. When providing education on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), it is projected that more learners will be moved to organize and act against IPV within the framework of social justice.

Educational leaders’ perceptions of multicultural education in teachers’ professional development: a case study from a Canadian school district

ABSTRACTThis Paper presents and discusses the findings of an empirical qualitative study that was conducted in one school district in British Columbia, Canada. The paper explores the perspectives of the educational leaders and their understanding of multicultural education and how they implement it in the school district's teachers' professional development (ProD) and in-service education. It discusses the theoretical frameworks that shape the participants’ choices and actions concerning how they educate and support teachers to handle the complexities of diversity and the changing demographics in the school district. The findings highlight the dominant liberal framework of multicultural education, the systemic barriers to move beyond the tokenistic approach of cultures and the organizational constraints to move towards transformative, critical multiculturalism and anti-racism education in teachers’ training and professional development. The paper proposes critical transformative multiculturalism as an alternative to transform teacher education and engage with educational reform from a social justice framework.

Transvlogs: online communication tools for transformative agency and development

ABSTRACTThis paper examines how 21 transgender individuals used YouTube transvlogs to co-create their own transformative agency. Drawing on a social justice framework, I conduct narrative content analysis to explore how a historically marginalized population enacted their own transformative development without researcher intervention. I suggest that by questioning the status quo, explicating and envisioning new activity patterns, and committing to concrete online and offline actions, transvloggers develop themselves and their community in transformative ways. Vloggers’ resistance and pursuit of new developmental pathways illustrate the power of individuals to design their own technological transformative systems even amidst challenging circumstances.

Problematic aspects of the regulatory and legislative framework for calculating pensions in Ukraine

Introduction. In order to further move towards the European Economic Area, Ukraine needs to take pension reform measures. Pension provision in Ukraine has to be profoundly reformed in terms of regulatory and legislative framework for calculating pensions in Ukraine. What is of particular importance is improving Ukraine’s laws and methods for calculation and pension payments to citizens. Another important focus of the reform agenda is to define categories of people eligible for old-age pensions, disability pensions, and long- service pensions.Purpose. The purpose of the article is to interpret the regulatory and legislative framework for calculating pensions in Ukraine; to describe changes in pension payments before and after the reform was implemented; to highlight ways of improving pension payments in terms of regulations and legislation.Methods. The research methods used in the article include: analysis; comparison; historical method to consider the legislative framework for calculating pensions at different periods of time.Results. The regulatory and legal framework for calculating pensions in Ukraine is a complex system comprising the Constitution of Ukraine, the Laws of Ukraine, the Labour Code of Ukraine, decrees, Presidential decrees, International agreements and laws of the USSR. Some of these regulations and legislation need to be revised and amended in order to bring them in line with contemporary practices and modern standards.It is claimed that since 2017, Ukraine’s government has been implementing the pension reform aimed at relieving the pressure on the working-age population and improving living standards for retired people. In particular, the retirement age has been raised, eligibility criteria for preferential pensions have been revised, and methods for calculating pensions have been changed.The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine argues that the new pension reform is expected to enhance social, labour and post-retirement relations, to increase tax revenues through reporting real salaries, to develop a framework of social justice when calculating pensions. The author points out that the regulatory and legislative framework for calculating pensions is outdated at this stage and it requires changes. The considered changes are as follows: the establishment of a working group for entitlement of preferential pensions; the introduction of wage differentials by industries and occupations; the increase of pensions in line with inflation and age; the implementation of notional defined contribution pension system; the introduction of the new Labour Code and Pension Code, which are expected to regulate labour and post-retirement relations and meet modern standards.It is also indicated that continued employment should be enforced by legislation and a system of granting advantages and social security benefits to those who retire later needs to be developed.In terms of legislation, sufficient regard should be given to non-state pension schemes, defined contribution pension systems, and the principle of fairness when it comes to pension entitlements. It is also crucial to adjust pension amounts and retirement age to align with the sustainability ratio and the average life expectancy.Discussion. Further research of regulatory and legal framework for calculating pensions in Ukraine should be focused on the development of the Pension Code and improvement of the existing laws relative to pension calculation and payment. The author also suggests differentiating minimum wages by industries and regions and countering the illicit labour market and campaigning against payments ‘in envelope’, because official wages are the basis for calculating pensions.

Pedagogies of performative care and school belonging: lessons from an Australian school

With schools coming under pressure to perform and produce outcomes, the caring practices of the institution have been increasingly framed around issues of achievement, excellence and outcomes. In this article, we examine how the performativity-driven practices of care impact on the possibilities of social inclusion for marginalised students. Drawing on case study data from two 14-year-old students in a government secondary school located in a low socio-economic suburb of Melbourne, Australia, we argue that the performative ethic of care fails to cater for the more complex needs of these students. Lacking the qualities of ‘good student’ as independent and successful learners, these students are positioned and treated differently in their schools, leading to their weak sense of belonging to the institution. We maintain that a plural social justice framework focusing on the politics of redistribution and recognition can provide the basis of a socially just education for marginalised students.

SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM OF ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE

The relevance of the problem of ecological justice is explained by its direct connection with the most important factors of our time – the release of humanity beyond the carrying capacity of the natural environment and threats to his very life on Earth; as well as the crisis of human relations, transformed by their interaction with natural, artificial and social habitats; clarification of the prerequisites for the emergence of this problem; penetration into its subject-object essence; the study of the objective and subjective factors acting on it; development of proposals to remove this problem from the public agenda. The results of the study showed that the reasons for its unresolved lie in the principles of the unjust organization of modern society, approved universally by the liberal ideology. The latter proclaims the priority of economic interests over social and ecological ones, within the framework of economic law ecological and social justice are formalized and, as a result, socio-ecological conflicts are reproduced daily. The responsibility for this conflict lies primarily with the societal formations of society – classes that occupy top status positions in society, which, despite the crisis of the natural environment, continue to support the way of life of saprophytes that are destructive for themselves and for nature, and that, ignoring the interests of other social formations; for the purpose of their economic benefits, they shape the personalities of consumers who are limited in their ability to have a deep awareness of the ecological problem. Thus, the current situation indicates a crisis above all in the social environment. As conclusions, the article proposes the reconstruction of a capitalist society, the laws of which are incompatible with the laws of nature, and contradict the ecological interests of most social entities in different countries, on the basis of replacing it with a more perfect society, capable of implementing ecological justice and ecological freedom.

International fieldwork in the age of global aging: fostering intercultural competence through student research and service provision in a residential care facility for older Guatemalans

ABSTRACT Representing one model of global aging education, international gerontological fieldwork placements provide opportunities to gain firsthand knowledge of the impact of cultural contexts both on the experience of aging and the provision of eldercare. The gerontology component of the NAPA (National Association for the Practice of Anthropology)-OT Field School in Antigua, Guatemala fostered intercultural competence through student engagement in eldercare research and service provision in a residential care facility for older Guatemalans. Field trips to additional medical and gerontological care settings expanded students’ perspectives of Guatemalan health and aging networks. The process of implementing the international gerontological fieldwork model and issues involved in its day-to-day enactment are described, including the development and initial year of the program, its underlying theoretical framework of social and occupational justice, the challenges involved, the trajectory of student involvement in the facility, social dynamics among students and residents, and the final outcomes of our work.

Veteran Homelessness: Examining the Values of Social Justice Guiding Policy

Utilizing a social justice framework, a comparative analysis determined which social justice values and philosophies most effectively guide policies that address the social problem of veteran homelessness. First, we explore the United States’ policy approach addressing veterans who are homelessness across various historical eras. This is followed by an international comparison examining the current policies of Australia, the United Kingdom, and Italy in addressing homelessness among veterans. We found that policies among these countries are still anchored in a reality that no longer exists for them—that of mandatory service for all adult males. United States’ current policy is alone (among those studied) anchored in the existing reality of an all-volunteer force, enabling the country to adopt policies strongly guided by notions of a right to housing. It is such policies, primarily guided by the notion of rights, which effectively address the social problem of veteran homeless.

Resituating Reciprocity within Longer Legacies of Colonization: A Conversation

This conversation/article resituates the concept of reciprocity, as it has been theorized and enacted in rhetoric, composition, and literacy studies, within a larger framework of social justice, one that recognizes legacies of struggle, survival and perseverance. When situated within the Filipinx indigenous notion of kapwa, reciprocity takes a temporal turn not only in recognizing that building trust and reciprocity happen repeatedly over time but also in recognizing how enacting reciprocity extends beyond initial research contexts, participants, and outcomes. Enacting reciprocity requires slowing down in time and working with others in social justice work strategically, tactically, and repeatedly over longer durations. To see ourselves as reciprocal beings means that we continually see ourselves as members of a larger community invested in making structural asymmetries legible and open to deep revision.