Social Justice in Education

Dangerous spaces: threatening sites for social justice

by John Schostak

This paper discusses some of the implications of the articles in a special issue of the journal "Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education"

The link to the revised paper is given.  But you can also download the unrevised prepublication version to get a sense of the papers in the special issue.

There is nothing natural about space as it is understood here. Spacing is an act that constructs relationships,... more There is nothing natural about space as it is understood here. Spacing is an act that constructs relationships, intervals, separations and thus boundaries. The earth has no territories other than those imagined and enforced through acts of territorialisation. A city has its private spaces closed to open access and open spaces that are inscribed with what can or cannot be done. As individuals pass by, stop and talk, or do such mundane things such as meet for coffee, interactional spaces are constructed and de-constructed. There are lines of legitimate connection and passage just as there are lines that cannot be crossed, or can only be crossed under certain conditions. In this special edition, each paper, in its different way, focuses on the spaces that emerge as off-limits, margins, edges, no-places; or on what happens when boundaries become indeterminate, shifting or shifty.

The F-word: How bright-sidedness overshadows feminist talk in schools.

by Laura Pinto

Schools/Our Selves, 20 (5) (105), 47-58

Social Justice and financial literacy

by Laura Pinto

With Chan, H. Our Schools/Our Selves, 19(2) (89), 61-78.

The streaming of working class and minority students in Ontario.

by Laura Pinto

Our Schools/Our Selves, 15 (2) (82), 79-89

The post-SSR emphasis on careers: Whose needs? At what price?

by Laura Pinto

Orbit, 35 (1), 28-31

Charismatic, Competent or Transformative? Ontario school administrators’ perceptions of good teachers.

by Laura Pinto

With Portelli, J.P., Rottman, C., Pashby, K., Barrett, S.E. & Mujawamariya, D. (2012).  Journal of Teaching and Learning, 8(1), 72-90

Social justice and the gender politics of financial literacy education.

by Laura Pinto

With Coulson, L. Canadian Journal of the Association for Curriculum Studies, 9(2), 54-85.

Teacher induction and social justice: School administrators’ perspectives.

by Laura Pinto

With Portelli, J.P., Rottman, C., Pashby, K., Barrett, S.E. & Mujawamariya, D. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 129, 1-22

On Being a Gay Male Theologian During the War on Women by Dirk von der Horst

by Feminism and Religion

originally published on the Feminism and Religion project.

or some time, a prominent strand of gay and feminist theory and theology has taken it almost as axiomatic that gay... more or some time, a prominent strand of gay and feminist theory and theology has taken it almost as axiomatic that gay men, lesbians, and straight women have a common stake in dismantling patriarchy.  While I have always understood my own work as a gay theologian in terms of that common struggle, recent developments point to a significant challenge to keeping that bond intact in the larger sphere of political activism.

At the end of last year, National Public Radio deemed 2011 an extraordinary year for gay rights.    Buzzfeed listed 40 reasons why it was the best year for gays ever, beginning with a Gallup poll showing that for the first time a majority of Americans supported same-sex marriage.  The list also included the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and several firsts for openly gay elected officials.  Even the world of professional sports is becoming more accepting: in a recent tweet, Ravens’ linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo equated support for same-sex marriage with playing in a Super Bowl when asked about his life’s greatest accomplishments.

Simultaneously, we saw a steady legislative assault on women’s reproductive freedom. 

Transformative Pathways: Inclusive Pedagogies in Teacher Education

by Dr Eva Dakich

Guðjónsdóttir, H., Cacciattolo, M., Dakich, E., Davies, A., Kelly, C., & Dalmau, M. C. (2007). Transformative pathways: Inclusive edagogies in teacher education. Journal of Technology in Education, 40(2).

This paper reports a three-year study of Praxis Inquiry based developments in teacher educa-tion undertaken by an... more This paper reports a three-year study of Praxis Inquiry based developments in teacher educa-tion undertaken by an international consortium of university colleagues who have worked in Australia, Iceland, Latvia, and the United Kingdom. Our study suggests that the attainment of inclusive community responsive pedagogies—in schools and in teacher education programs—is situated in the public/personal dialectic between the transformation of individual values, world views, ethics and practice, and the sociocultural and structural factors that mediate equity, access, and opportunity in educational systems. (Keywords: Teacher education, inclusive pedagogies, Praxis Inquiry, social justice.)

From Rawlsian Autonomy to Sufficient Opportunity in Education

by Liam Shields

This paper argues that a commitment to the priority of a certain kind of autonomy, what I call Rawlsian Autonomy,... more This paper argues that a commitment to the priority of a certain kind of autonomy, what I call Rawlsian Autonomy, entails a commitment to self-realization, which includes the development of our natural talents and interests. Educational institutions, then should be designed so as to provide sufficient opportunity to develop those talents and interests. Moreover, since the account of autonomy, from which sufficient opportunity is derived, is given lexical priority in Rawls theory, the primary aim of a just educational system is not equal opportunity but sufficient opportunity. Some of the practical implications of taking sufficient opportunity are considered for the charitable status of independent schools and curriculum design.

How Bad Can a Good Enough Parent Be?

by Liam Shields

draft only

This paper aims to clarify an account of the good enough parent, a key concept in debates about the justification of... more This paper aims to clarify an account of the good enough parent, a key concept in debates about the justification of the custodial arrangements of children, such as the family. The most plausible justifications of the custodial arrangements of children are offered by so-called Dual-Interest Views, which hold that both the adult’s and the child’s interests are relevant to such decisions. An implication of these views is that in order to retain custody of their children parents need only be good enough. However, they do not tell us how bad a good enough parent can be. This paper examines the considerations relevant to devising an account of the good enough parent and defends a particular account, which enables us to identify sufficient reasons to remove children from the custody of their parents. The paper also draws out the implications this account has for historical controversies involving the large-scale redistribution of children and for practical debates in British politics about mixed-raced adoption.

The ordinary trauma of gender

by Lee Airton

DRAFT ONLY

The problem of looking at others

by Lee Airton

DRAFT ONLY

A Sojourn Into the Empowering Uncertainties of Teaching and Learning Mathematics for Social Change [Chapter 1]

by David Stinson

Stinson, D. W., & Wager, A. A. (2012). A sojourn into the empowering uncertainties of teaching and learning mathematics for social change. In A. A. Wager & D. W. Stinson (Eds.), Teaching mathematics for social justice: Conversations with educators (pp. 3–18). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Excerpt from Chapter 1 Excerpt from Chapter 1

Building the HIVe: Disrupting Biomedical HIV and AIDS Research with Gay Men, other men who have sex with men (MSM) and Transgenders

by Christopher Walsh

with Gurmit Singh

Networked and digital technologies mediate the sexual behaviours and practices of many gay men, other men that have... more Networked and digital technologies mediate the sexual behaviours and practices of many gay men, other men that have sex with men (MSM) and transgenders (TG). These changes challenge the effectiveness of biomedical HIV and AIDS research, prevention and care. Driven by the normative
positivist philosophy of science, these approaches—while paramount to fighting the epidemic—have neglected to rethink their ontological and epistemological assumptions when confronting the cognitive, social, cultural, material and technological drivers of HIV. The HIVe is a dynamic model that stimulates ongoing systems-wide strategic collaboration among HIV research, policy and practice sectors to share effective digital community-based and led HIV prevention and care interventions across gay men, other MSM and TG communities. ‘Building the HIVe’ fore fronts community-based and led social sciences HIV and AIDS research, prevention and care. The model addresses digitally mediated and driven sexual behaviours to reduce vulnerabilities, construct and exchange social, cultural, economic and symbolic capitals, and challenge stigma and discrimination with the aim of stopping new HIV infections. The HIVe disrupts and queers biomedical approaches by building an accessible and dynamic open source, universal access research community engaged in reflexive performativity to improve the health and human rights of marginalised communities disproportionately at risk of HIV
and AIDS.

On Self-Realization Through Work

by Michele Loi

Quasi-final draft, please do not quote. Submitted 2.04.2012 to Philosopher's Imprint

Suffering And The Work Of Emancipation Through Education

by John Schostak

A conference paper a revised version of which will be published later in 2012 in the Journal Power and Education http://www.wwwords.co.uk/power/

The paper begins:

Everyone goes through some form of schooling, not just in their youth but, in its widest... more The paper begins:

Everyone goes through some form of schooling, not just in their youth but, in its widest definition, all their working lives. Schooling, in the sense it is being employed here is intimately connected with organisational power and the politics of social and economic order. Some of the pressures and demands made by such forms of schooling at every stage of life may often be experienced as problematic at psychological, personal, and social levels that hinder development and cause health problems that in the extreme may involve medical, child psychiatric or psychological interventions. There have been many approaches to analysis. From a moralising point of view the child may be seen as lazy, undisciplined, naughty, even wicked. Medical and psychological perspectives may focus on learning difficulties, dyslexia, hyperactivity and so on. From an organisational and system point of view blame may be placed with a lack of resources, the quality of the teaching staff, the structuring of the school day, the teaching methods, the pressures and forms of assessment. What is not in question is the 'good' that schooling represents.

In this paper we question this 'good'.

Teaching Methods and Life Experiences of Urban Elementary Physical Educators

by Brian Culp

2005 GAATE Disseration Award

See document See document

Learning to be part of the knowledge economy: digital divides and media literacy

by Lyndsay Grant