Social Justice Research Articles

The emergence of science teacher leadership in the context of the pursuit of teaching science for social justice

The emergence of science teacher leadership in the context of the pursuit of teaching science for social justice

Education.Co-op: A Nudge to the Future

The role of education is one which transforms. In a capitalist neo-liberal environment, the consuming and competitive individual is cast as the protagonist at the expense of communities that struggle for a common good. Especially in the global north, this is exacerbated by lifestyles and leisure patterns which have been heavily influenced by the onslaught of digital technologies, fragmenting to a considerable degree the physical community and the spaces for social interaction strongly associated with wellbeing. This is evident in a number of trends in society at large, including the organization of labour, which pits workers against each other, eroding solidarity, and dissipating class consciousness. In this context, many educators try their best to provide hope, a sense of belonging, and a struggle for justice. This they do despite being considered pegs to plug holes in a system struggling to cope, and where knowledge is considered technical and practical, rather than emancipatory. A cooperative model which provides a greater sense of belonging, an ethos underpinned by social justice and democratic principles, and ultimately a sense of trust and wellbeing, will be proposed. This model can provide a sound but permeable matrix which empowers educators collectively and provides a better community experience for a diversity of learners.

Social Inclusion and Justice for the Internally Displaced by the Herdsmen-Farmers Conflict in Benue State, Nigeria

Executive Summary Herdsmen-farmers conflict has displaced 1.5 million residents of Benue State, Nigeria, according to government officials. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) have lost livelihoods, farms, personal property and community infrastructure. The paper highlights the social challenges they have experienced and the response by government and international humanitarian agencies (IHAs) to their situations. Based on interviews with 12 IDPs belonging to the displaced population from Guma Local Government Area of Benue State and interviews with seven humanitarian workers, the paper finds that the IDPs: • Have lost family members, neighbors, farms, churches, health centers, and means of mobility. • Cannot safely return home or access their ancestral lands. • Cannot support themselves. • Cannot attend public school or progress to a university. • Lack access to quality health care. • Live with multiple families in insecure shelters. • Cannot reliably obtain birth registration and replace other destroyed documents. • Can register their names, family relations, and former villages, but not their losses, which might lead to compensation and help them to rebuild their lives. The paper makes the following recommendations. • Registration, Effective Remedies and Access to Justice: The Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA), Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs (FMHA) and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) should document personal and community socio-economic losses to ascertain the extent of damage to IDPs in order to facilitate effective remedies. The Ministries of Justice, the National Human Rights Commission, and UNHCR should support the IDPs by providing them with information and procedures that allow them to secure full compensation for their losses, and with safe, permanent solutions to their situations, including full integration into their host communities, safe and voluntary return home, or resettlement in a third community. • Engage IDPs as Stakeholders: The Benue State Government should ensure that BSEMA communicates to IDPs the possibilities for voluntary and dignified safe return. If return is not immediately foreseeable, BSEMA should offer IDPs the means to relocate and resettle elsewhere. • Provision of Sustainable Social Amenities: BSEMA, the FMHA, and international humanitarian agencies (IHAs) should provide sustainable healthcare, shelter, education in IDP camps, financial assistance and the means to access services outside of IDP camps. • Peace through Establishment of Ranches: Benue State Government’s Peace Commission should resolve the herdsmen-farmer conflict and restore peace by promoting peaceful co-existence between the conflicting parties. Herdsmen should be educated on the procedures for legal land acquisition for ranching, and farmers should be able to seek legal redress when their farms are damaged by grazing cattle. BSEMA and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs should also facilitate voluntary, safe and dignified return of IDPs or their resettlement in another community. • Safeguard IDP Camps: BSEMA and the Nigeria security agencies should safeguard official and unofficial IDP camps. • Inclusive Policy Implementation: The FMHA in collaboration with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) should develop humanitarian response plans that are beneficial to all IDPs in Nigeria irrespective of the cause of their displacement.

Pushing, standing and bringing to light: How medical trainees conceptualise professional resistance.

Much of the literature on harm and injustice in medical education focuses on the impact of oppression rather than trainees' efforts to create change. To acknowledge and make visible these efforts, medical education professionals must grasp how trainees perceive resistance and their role in effecting change. Employing functional linguistic and 'everyday' resistance theories, this critical qualitative study aims to understand trainees' conceptions of resistance practices and their representational choices in moments when they talked about and conceptualised resistance. Gathering participants through professional networks and snowball sampling, this study employed in-depth interviews to explore the conceptualisations of resistance among North American medical trainees (9 medical students, 9 residents and fellows). With the use of an applied functional linguistic analysis framework, we analysed the representational metafunction in trainees' conceptualisation of their resistance efforts against social injustice. We began with open coding for 'everyday' acts of resistance and then shifted to focused coding on verbal process types in participants' language to characterise their conceptualisations of resistance. Participants conceptualised their resistance practices in three distinct ways: first, an almost physical pushing back, drawing largely on material process types (doing); second, an embodied standing up and being present, based predominantly on material and relational process types (being); and third, an epistemic bringing to light, grounded mostly in mental and verbal process types (thinking). These processes of resistance reflect participants' conceptualisations of their efforts to challenge the status quo around inequity, harm and injustice in medical education. This study builds on resistance literature, offering a potential typology of resistance practices as pushing back, being and bringing to light. Because these are 'everyday' acts of resistance, these are tactics available to everyone, including faculty; we all have the power to resist, whether it is in teaching and learning or interacting with larger structures in medicine.

Integrating EcoJustice pedagogy with social justice pedagogy in children’s literature courses

Integrating EcoJustice pedagogy with social justice pedagogy in children’s literature courses

Overcoming Language Barriers in Contracts – A South African Perspective

Language forms the basis of written contracts, but the use of language may also function as a barrier to contracting parties, particularly when the parties are not proficient in the commercial language of choice, such as English in the case of South Africa. The plain language movement and specifically legislative interventions have placed significant pressure on lawmakers to reform the use of traditional legal English, and consequently, traditional drafting styles. However, many contracts continue to exhibit convoluted language, legalese and poor visual appeal, which ultimately functions as a language barrier for many people. This article examines the various language barriers that exist in contracts from a South African perspective. It does so by assessing the barriers that exist under first, the common law (or the so-called default rules), second, the use of standard contracts, and third, the resistance to the use of plain language as well as the limited application of existing plain language legislation in certain types of contractual engagements. The author proposes dismantling the language barriers by adopting both textual and visual communication devices in order to achieve clear and comprehensible language in all types of contracts. Furthermore, it is suggested that such communication devices should not necessarily be limited to consumer contracts that are legislatively required to comply with plain language requirements. It is only by dismantling existing language barriers that social justice within contracts can be achieved in a society with diverse language proficiencies, such as South Africa. Therein, this article offers insights that are relevant not only within the South African context but also for countries that may face similar language barriers characterised by multiple languages and varying language proficiencies within their populations.

Before Biodiversity: Trajectories of National Parks in Latin America (1930s–1980s)

Abstract Almost a century ago, long before biodiversity expressed a scientific value for nature, Latin American countries began establishing national parks. Today, they represent over 6 percent of Latin America’s landmass. By considering national park creation across a broad regional span and six crucial decades, this article explains a mode of state formation focused on caring for nature instead of just exploiting it. It examines how national parks expanded in the region by identifying three consequent trajectories: the use of these conservation units for frontier development in Argentina and as part of a broader project seeking social justice in Mexico; the formation of more haphazard park initiatives in various countries, taking Brazil and Chile as main examples; and the development of ecologically coherent park systems through the cases of Peru and Colombia. The article also addresses the role of science (especially forestry) and international cooperation in shaping national parks. In this manner, it uncovers the paths that faded from view after the idea that parks intend to protect biodiversity took hold and illustrates a rarely acknowledged aspect of state expansion.

Avoiding the ‘Backfire Problem’: How Martin Luther King Jr. came to Ground his Nonviolent Activism in Personalism

Abstract Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appears to have preferred nonviolent tactics for social justice that sidestepped the backfire problem. Given that he deployed approximately twenty-five nonviolent tactics, the number of options he chose not to deploy greatly outnumbers those he did deploy. Why? Both his circumstances and his philosophy shaped his preferences for nonviolent tactics. First, I explore how his preferred tactics embodied the praxis of his nonviolent personalism. Second, I explore the early introduction of King to pacifism and how this evolved during his graduate studies at Boston University. Third, I suggest that King drew upon his commitment to personalism to develop pragmatically his own approach to nonviolent activism, and that when King visited India, he was seeking practical support for his praxis of nonviolent activism. Finally, I reflect on how King’s praxis of nonviolent activism aimed to avoid the backfire problem.

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.

A history of the community mental health movement and individuals with serious mental illness: A vision for the future.

The history of the development of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice was founded on understanding the social determinants of mental health and society and the necessity for multiple disciplines to organize advocacy for human rights and social justice. This led way to a wide cross-section of disciplines working together to engage at the policy level, in legislation, and within community settings as the Community Mental Health Movement developed and made a path for the reformation of many forms within the mental health field. This article reviews some of that interesting history and the importance of understanding those fundamental roots as we also look at the future for what is next in advocacy, social justice action, and policy directions for advancing the lives of those with serious mental illness, who face some of the most oppressive forms of marginalization and rejection of human rights and citizenship. This article will outline social justice action agendas for the organization and diverse collaborative fields to pursue as we embark upon the future and envision the full rights of citizenship for those with serious mental illness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Asteroid mining vs the carbon bubble: ethical considerations for space resource extraction

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to consider the ethical and environmental implications of allowing space resource extraction to disrupt existing fuel economies, including how companies can be held accountable for ensuring the responsible use of their space assets. It will also briefly consider how such assets should be taxed, and the cost/benefit analyses required to justify the considerable expense of supporting this emerging space industry.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts theoretical bioethics methodologies to explore issues of normative ethics and the formulation of moral rules to govern individual, collective and institutional behaviour. Specifically, it considers social justice and social contract theory, consequentialist and deontological accounts of ethical evaluation. It also draws on sociological and organisational literature to discuss Dowling and Pfeffer’s (1975) and Suchman’s (1995) theories of pragmatic, cognitive and moral legitimacy as they may be applied to off-world mining regulations and the handling of space assets.FindingsThe findings of this conceptual paper indicate there is both a growing appetite for tighter resource extraction regulations to address climate change and wealth concentration globally, and an opportunity to establish and legitimise new ethical norms for commercial activity in space that can avoid some of the challenges currently facing fossil fuel divestment movements on Earth.Originality/valueBy adopting methodologies from theoretical bioethics, sociology and business studies, including applying a legitimacy lens to the issue of off-world mining, this paper synthesises existing knowledges from these fields and brings them to the new context of the future space resource economy.

Digitalization of Religious (Islamic) Education

This research explores the impact of digital methods in religious studies on students' global and community engagement within a liberal arts education. The university's Religious Studies department pioneers digital practices to promote civic awareness, global integration, and student empowerment through interactive learning. Small-scale community projects foster global skills, enhance learning, and promote diversity appreciation. One such project, "Digital Methods to Raise Awareness of Domestic Violence & Social Justice," involves creating and disseminating digital messages promoting environmental cleanliness. Insights from interdisciplinary experts, including those from Forman Christian College University, refine these practices. The study aims to standardize effective digital methods for liberal arts education, fostering community-centered individuals and contributing to the digital humanities field. Through experiences at Forman Christian College University, it enriches discussions on integrating digital methods in liberal arts education, fostering future teaching innovations.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The article is devoted to the search for conceptual solutions to the problem of ensuring sustainable economic growth in the new unstable economic conditions. This topic remains extremely relevant in the modern world, where various challenges are faced, such as climate change, resource depletion, population growth, increased social inequality and other problems. The authors explore the evolution of the concept of sustainable development, highlighting various essential aspects of understanding the category of sustainability. In different time periods, climate change and environmental challenges, social justice and efficiency, global cooperation and risk management, digitalization and technological innovation have consistently been at the center of the problem of sustainable development. As a result, strategies to reduce the negative impact on the environment and adapt to climate change have been replaced by strategies of green technologies, which, in turn, have been replaced by strategies of international cooperation and coordination of actions by all members of society to solve global problems of our time. The authors prove the importance of considering not only environmental, but also social aspects when developing sustainable development strategies to ensure social justice and improve the quality of life of all segments of society. In conclusion, the authors conclude that risk management related to economic instability, environmental changes and other factors requires new strategies for sustainable development, which in turn is impossible without effective public management, public involvement, and informed decision-making.

Mental health and justice beyond borders: Global crises, sociopolitical determinants, and contemporary practices in forensic psychiatry

In an era marked by escalating international crises, environmental shifts, and sociopolitical volatilities, global mental health is facing profound challenges. With its distinctive position at the intersection between clinical and judicial domains, forensic psychiatry can be predisposed to the consequences of adverse external determinants and events. At present, geopolitical conflicts, rising insecurities, climate change, forced and voluntary migration, and regressive sociopolitical ideologies are all compounding role responsibilities, care models, and ethical expectations across forensic-psychiatric practice; in short, complex distal factors are increasingly informing domestic considerations. These far-reaching concerns indicate a need for adaptive and proactive responses, underpinned by cultural sensitivity, social justice, and respect for human rights. Through illustrative examples from different regions, this perspective paper calls for a greater recognition of the transnational dynamics that are affecting local contexts of practice. Equally, it outlines the importance of advocacy, interdisciplinary collaborations, and potential evolutions in training and ethical frameworks to address contemporary issues. By adopting these approaches, forensic psychiatrists can promote more just systems and equitable mental healthcare for patients amidst the uncertainties of an interconnected and rapidly transforming world.

The impact of devaluing Women of Color: stress, reproduction, and justice.

This commentary is in response to the Call for Papers put forth by the Critical Midwifery Studies Collective (June 2022). We argue that due to a long and ongoing history of gendered racism, Women of Color are devalued in U.S. society. Devaluing Women of Color leads maternal healthcare practitioners to miss and even dismiss distress in Women of Color. Theresult is systematic underdiagnosis, undertreatment, and the delivery of poorer care to Women of Color, which negatively affects reproductive outcomes generally and birth outcomes specifically. These compounding effects exacerbate distress in Women of Color leading to greater distress. Stress physiology is ancient and intricately interwoven with healthy pregnancy physiology, and this relationship is a highly conserved reproductive strategy. Thus, where there is disproportionate or excess stress (distress), unsurprisingly, there are disproportionate and excess rates of poorer reproductive outcomes. Stress physiology and reproductive physiology collide with social injustices (i.e., racism, discrimination, and anti-Blackness), resulting in pernicious racialized maternal health disparities. Accordingly, the interplay between stress and reproduction is a key social justice issue and an important site for theoretical inquiry and birth equity efforts. Fortunately, both stress physiology and pregnancy physiology are highly plastic-responsive to the benefits of increased social support and respectful maternity care. Justice means valuing Women of Color and valuing their right to have a healthy, respected, and safe life.

Resilience framework for urban water supply systems planning

ABSTRACT As the concept of resilience is becoming a criterion in planning, water utilities are seeking support and practical guidance to enhance their conventional risk-based planning processes. This paper presents a resilience framework for urban water supply systems planning during the transition towards integrated water resources management. Based on a synthesis of literature across engineering, ecological and social sciences, resilient system performance is defined using crossings of fail-safe and safe-fail thresholds as key indicators. System performance curves conceptually illustrate the capabilities withstanding, absorptive, restorative, adaptive, transformative, and anticipative (WARATA), during sudden and gradual disruptions. Sustainability goals are explicitly considered in the resilience framework, and the role of transformative and anticipative capabilities to facilitate transitions is discussed. Specifically, the desirability of physical design and predicted community consequences from performance impact and collapse can be used in resilience management to prioritize between fail-safe and safe-fail system capacities. Finally, key considerations for operationalizing the framework are summarized, including how issues related to social justice can be addressed when simulating performance and deriving metrics. While this paper focuses on urban water supply, the framework could be applied to other service-providing infrastructure where resilience-based planning supported by quantitative evidence is required to inform investments.

Bridging Horizons: Exploring STEM Students’ Perspectives on Service-Learning and Storytelling Activities for Community Engagement and Gender Equality

This study explores STEM students’ perspectives on service-learning and story-telling activities to enhance community engagement and advance gender equality, investigating their impact on students’ perceptions, experiences, and understanding of gender dynamics within rural communities. Through qualitative analysis of interviews, reflective journals, and participatory videos, this study explores the transformative potential of service-learning and storytelling initiatives in empowering rural women, challenging traditional societal roles, and advocating for equal opportunities, particularly in STEM disciplines. Findings reveal the multifaceted benefits of these activities, including the development of empathy, cultural awareness, leadership skills, and a commitment to social justice among participating students. This study highlights the importance of integrating service-learning and storytelling into STEM education to cultivate inclusive practices, promote community development, and advance gender equality in rural settings.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Spirituality: Islamic Perspective

Scientific concern regarding CSR continues to grow in the business world. Previously, CSR studies did not include elements of morally binding values. Then this phenomenon developed by entering spirituality as a source of important values in CSR. Therefore, the literature on the topic must provide an up-to-date overview of religion-based CSR research. This literature aims to understand the concept of CSR based on Islamic spirituality. This literature review has five main stages, namely identifying research questions, identifying relevant studies, study selection, making data charts, compile, summarize and report results. The studies reviewed were from the Emerald, Springer, and Taylor Francis electronic databases. The study results show that from an Islamic perspective, CSR leads to social justice, and CSR is completely selfless in creating prosperity. The implications of this study are expected to be a reference and guideline in implementing CSR based on Islamic spirituality which adheres to religious values with the aim of justice and social welfare, so that companies can achieve sustainability.

A litany for survival in pandemic times – DisCrit mothering and radical love

This is a critical autoethnography informed by Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Dis/ability Critical Race Studies (DisCrit) that explores the notion of DisCrit mothering in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. I use my experiences as a disabled Latina motherscholar and mindfulness practitioner to reflect on how I mother my two young children and foster radical love in educational spaces. I present the pandemic context and how it relates to compassion fatigue and a litany for survival but also offer the pandemic as an opportunity for personal and collective transformation. I use the narrative of sacrificio, a teacher’s note from school, and a “giftedness” program to discuss how I try to resist internal and external pressures to conform to ableist mindsets and practices by cultivating radical love, solidarity, and critical questioning in myself and in my children. I end this work with hope and love for the next generation of DisCrit, social justice warriors.

The 1973 Migrant Workers’ Conference and Histories of Multiculturalism

Nowhere is the alliance between leftist organisations, trade unions, migrant workers’ clubs and ethnic welfare societies better represented than in the migrant workers’ conferences held in 1973 and 1975. This article argues for the historic importance of these overlooked moments in the history of twentieth-century labour migration. It explores the inter-ethnic and social justice aims of grassroots multiculturalism in Australia – a model that has been lost in subsequent official renderings of multiculturalism. What was the social and political position of non-Anglo migrant labourers and the migrant rights activists representing their interests? How did they engage with the labour movement and the Far Left? What political alliances formed around this question of migrant labour and migrant welfare for ethnic minority workers? And what were the outcomes of these conferences? This article will explore the improbable alliances and tensions that formed the migrant rights movement in the early 1970s; track its fracturing after the mid-1970s, when economic crises rendered its more ambitious redistributive aims unachievable; and examine how the ideological direction of state-endorsed multiculturalism diverted its inter-ethnic social justice agenda.