Philosophy Of Social Justice Research Articles

A call for a new perspective in social work and health care: the developmental-clinical social work perspective. COVID-19 pandemic through the human rights perspective

ABSTRACT Human rights are essential in shaping the pandemic response both for the public health emergency and the broader impact on people’s well-being. Utilizing the human rights lenses, this article expatiates on a developmental-clinical social work approach to the COVID-19 pandemic response. The disquisition explores human rights to health, education, adequate food and nutrition, water and sanitation, and development. It conducts projections and a cost–benefit analysis of remedial and developmental focus on health. The paper emphasizes that it is criminal to deprive human beings of their entitlements. The paper argues that socio-economic inequalities deprive people of their human rights. To this end, it calls for the equal distribution of wealth to end poverty and ultimately address human rights concerns. It advances for the integration of health in all policies. The article calls for the social work profession and other helping professions to rethink of their priorities in the enhancement of people’s welfare: either to be an agent of social control or an agent of social change. Social work should face the socio-economic inequalities head-on if it is to truly reflect its professional philosophy of social justice.

Alleviating inequity and promoting a moral economy through Fair Trade: how can reluctant consumers become part of the solution?

ABSTRACT Anchored in social-justice philosophy, the Fair Trade (FT) system aims to help producers in poor/developing countries through contributions from consumers in wealthy parts of the world. Focusing on consumers who have not yet adopted FT products, we examine marketing options for broadening the Fair Trade system by encouraging the involvement of this consumer segment. Based on equity theory, across three studies, we test if fairness considerations increase consumers’ willingness-to-pay the FT premium and illustrate the role of product type (utilitarian versus hedonic) in stimulating willingness-to-pay. Individual differences in consumers’ social-value-orientation are taken into account, and the strategic implications of marketing FT products to reluctant consumers are highlighted.

Editor's Note: Harold Pinter's Pandemic Aesthetics: Pinter, COVID, and Black Lives Matter

Editor's Note: Harold Pinter's Pandemic Aesthetics: Pinter, COVID, and Black Lives Matter

Health Research and Social Justice Philosophy.

Situating medical and scientific research within a framework or theory of social justice is long overdue. Attempting to extend principles of research ethics beyond the clinic and lab to other affected people or consequences tolerates or obfuscates injustice. While it must be done, the timescales, methodologies, and commitment to real-world impact are quite different in research ethics versus political philosophy.

A University/School District Partnership to Close the Information, Opportunity, and Attainment Gaps for Students in Urban Schools

This article outlines how to replicate strategies employed during a two-decade partnership between the University of North Florida’s (UNF) school counselor preparation program and Duval County Public Schools, a large, urban, southern school district. The partnership created a culture of collaboration built on a mutual social justice philosophy for the purpose of closing attainment gaps. Participation in the partnership has become mandatory for UNF school counseling candidates in their preparation to be systemic change agents who ferret out and eliminate opportunity gaps and information gaps to benefit K–12 students.

A path to peace: A comparative study of practitioners’ views of juvenile restorative justice in Chile, England, Italy, and Sweden

Recent attention to juvenile delinquency has led to calls for alternative approaches for youth offenders that can reduce recidivism. This research analyzes how practitioners in Sweden, England, Italy, and Chile perceive the implementation of victim offender mediation (VOM). An emphasis is given to challenges and strategies that practitioners in Sweden, England, and Italy report, in order to provide a framework for implementation of VOM in a country in the early stages of implementation and consideration, such as Chile. An instrumental comparative case study design was used to compare the four cases of VOM implementation, conducting in-depth interviews in each country with key informants about the implementation process. The results suggest that practitioners are overwhelmingly satisfied with VOM in each European country, and that their experiences can be incorporated as lessons learned for practitioners in other countries seeking to implement VOM. Implications for adapting VOM to a different cultural context are described in the discussion, as well as a critical analysis of the need for more empirical evidence and further research on VOM and its underlying philosophy of social justice and accountability.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Philosophy of Social Justice in Education

Historical discussions of social justice in education and its impact on society tend to focus on Brown v. TheBoard of Education (1954), as an antidote to Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which enshrined the infamous"separate but equal" dictum for racially segregated schools. One person rarely considered in the discussion,yet critical because of her enormous public influence in her day, is Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Most knowCady Stanton as a founder of the Women's Movement in America , and as an advocate for women.However, Cady Stanton also provided a well-documented, systematically developed theory on social justicein education. This surprised us, since her work received enormous scrutiny when feminists of the 1960s and1970s worked to unearth forgotten women. Believing that advancing women's place in educational thoughtrequires understanding the contributions of women to educational thought, we set out to understand CadyStanton's philosophy of social justice in education.

Finding my critical voice for social justice and passing it on: an essay

This introspective critical essay elucidates some of the challenges I encountered in my efforts to persist at various levels of education as a first-generation White student from a low-income background and through multiple intersectionalities, primarily class and gender. My lived experiences and transformation from a near high school dropout to a university professor are detailed with particular attention to how these experiences transformed my thinking about my family from deficit to asset, and how I now use this critical consciousness in my teaching and research. Particular attention is paid to the political, social, and educational factors that influenced my philosophy of social justice.

Compensation of personal injury resulting from road traffic accidents in Cameroon: a critical analysis

Road traffic accident compensation which is meant to address the financial rights and needs of those injured is faced with a lot of challenges and hurdles in Cameroon. The system is based on automatic compensation linked to a direct insurance of risks created by road accidents. This however, still does not guarantee a befitting and timely compensation. The fact that such actions still have to go through lengthy administrative and legal procedures, alongside costly legal fee for the assessment of damages, has made most claimants disappointed. Such concern over the system of compensation calls for a thorough address and redress of the issue. Most jurisdictions the world over have moved away from the court system of calculation of damages to a social security system where all persons injured in road accidents have a right to compensation while still maintaining their right to litigation. These schemes are based on the philosophy of social justice and community responsibility. The focus of this paper is to bring out the limitations of the current system of compensation of road traffic accidents in Cameroon. It undertakes a comparative analysis to evaluate the arguments in support of the introduction of a collective insurance scheme of compensation in Cameroon.

Understanding social justice leadership

This article is an examination of two social justice leaders, one in Costa Rica and one in England. It is part of the International Study of Leadership Development Network, a multi-nation study of social justice and educational leadership. A brief discussion of the philosophy of social justice and an examination of the macro and micro context in each of the countries set the stage to understand the social perspective of the two school leaders. Interviews were conducted to construct a narrative to illuminate their views of social justice. A comparison of the leaders found more similarities than differences even though the settings in each country were quite different. They both felt that it was important to challenge inequities in society and demand that the government provide for all citizens; they emphasized respect for students; and, to some extent, they grounded their beliefs in faith. These narratives can be valuable for both practitioners and researchers to learn from the conceptions of social justice and the challenges of these leaders. Illuminating the agency of a school leader in one national context may stir the possibility of emancipation in another context.

GRADUATE STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPACT OF TRAINING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE: DEVELOPMENT OF A TRAINING MODEL

A school psychology training model that translates social justice from an aspiration to a model of practice for school psychologists will be examined. The strategies used to incorporate principles of social justice into the school psychology graduate training program with the goal of preparing school psychologists as agents of change will be discussed as well as key areas of training that were targeted (i.e., program mission, student body, program courses, community partnering, and community‐based projects). Evaluative data from three cohorts about the impact of their training experiences on integrating social justice into their professional practice will be presented. Graduate student perceptions, implications of the training model, and suggestions for programs that are considering embracing a philosophy of social justice in an explicit way will be discussed.

A Bird's Eye View. Two Topics at the Intersection of Social Determinants of Health and Social Justice Philosophy

The article discusses two areas at the intersection of social determinants of health research and social justice theory. The first section examines the affinity between social epidemiology and the capabilities approach. The second section examines how social epidemiology's expansion of the scope of the causal chain and determinants raises questions about epistemology and ontology in epidemiology as well as the field's link to the moral concern for human health.

Waqf-Based Islamic Philanthropic Instruments for Micro-Funding of Micro-Finance

Islamic Finance is based on the philosophy of social justice by sharing risk and rewards. It prohibits interest payments, short-selling and contracts considered excessively risky. Islamic finance is based on Shariah, or Islamic law. It requires that gains be derived from ethical and socially responsible investments and discourages interest-based banking and investments in sectors like pork, gambling and pornography and other immoral activities. Investments in long term projects considered to benefit society are held in high regard. Islamic microfinance which is a part of Islamic Finance blends well with the goal of microfinance as both Islamic finance and traditional micro-finance institutions are aimed at achieving economic justice. Islamic microfinance contributes toward uplifting the poor with funding based on profit and loss sharing instead of the high-interest bearing credits offered by traditional microfinance institutions. It has the potential to address the ultra-poor who lack collateral owing to its profit-loss sharing mechanism. This paper shall explore an area of Islamic Finance that deals with one of the two major sectors of Islamic endowments, zakat and waqf. It will elaborate the concept of implementing specialized financial instruments, Cash Waqf to deal with the long mismanaged charitable fund of waqf. It will discuss opportunities for enhancing participation, provide efficient and improved management of endowments, ensure selective investments to maximize the socio-economic benefit and most importantly invest the scattered funds in a productive usage as opposed to current practice of consumerism through the mechanism of micro funding of Islamic microfinance institutions.

Social Justice and Applied Psychology: Practical Ideas for Training the Next Generation of Psychologists

Even though many applied psychology programs embrace a philosophy of social justice, faculty members and trainers are often faced with the practical struggle of implementing a social justice training agenda. This article discusses both the theoretical and practical aspects of implementing a social justice training agenda in applied psychology programs.

Autoethnography of a First-Time Superintendent: Challenges to Leadership for Social Justice

This autoethnography elucidates the challenges I encountered in my efforts to maintain my commitment to leadership for social justice. When I assumed the superintendency of a small rural school district in southern Texas, I started collecting data in the form of a journal. My lived experiences, as recorded in my journal, were the sole source of data for this inquiry. This study provides a descriptive analysis of my daily experiences as a first-time superintendent. Due to time limitations, this project focuses only on the first year of my superintendency, giving particular attention to the political and social factors that impeded my philosophy of social justice.

Leadership for Bilingual Education: Reflections on Social Justice

The role of administrator preparation programs should be one of creating the conscientization (Freire, 2000) of aspiring administrators. Administrator preparation programs with a social justice perspective support and agitate aspiring administrators to act and address equity issues affecting all of those involved in the school learning community (Cambron-McCabe & McCarthy 2005; Marshall, 2004). Conscientization leading to action is a key component in preparing school leaders to embody a social justice philosophy. The types of activities required of aspiring school administrators within the two courses described here encourage aspiring administrators to reflect and act on the social, economic, and educational inequities perpetuated in schools. This article describes assignments required within educational leadership preparation programs in two Hispanic-serving institutions in the Southwest. The purpose of each assignment is presented, followed by process, implications for social justice, and recommendations to enhance the projects.

The Chinese Reassessment of Socialism, 1976-1992.

Since the late 1970s, a debate has been unfolding in China concerning the merits of socialism as a philosophy of social justice and as a programme for national development. Just as Deng Xiaoping's better advertised experiment with market-based reforms has challenged Marxist-Leninist dogma on economic policy, the years since the death of Mao Zedong have seen a profound re-examination of a more basic question: to what extent are the root problems of the system due to Chinese socialism and Marxism generally? This book presents a systematic study of post-Mao reappraisal of China's socialist theory and practice. Rejecting an assumption often made in the West, that Chinese socialist thought has little bearing on politics and policymaking, this book takes the argument of the post-Mao era seriously on their own terms. It identifies the major factors in the debate, reveals the interplay among official and unofficial forces, and charts the development of the debate from an initially parochial concern with problems raised by Chinese practice to a grand critique of the theory of socialism itself. The book concludes with a comparison of the reassessments undertaken by Deng Xiaoping with those o