"Thus, there are no schools, no teachers, no hospitals, no infrastructure. The root causes of this situation are not to be found in the immediate situation. They can be uncovered only if we focus on the chain of capital information internationally and nationally on the contradictory needs of the state, on the class relations and the relations between country and city that organise and disorganise that country." (Apple 1996: 4)
Therefore without the implication of social justice from an educators point of view, how can we expect any sense of unity within our schools? Or how can be progressively eliminate any boundaries that may be present in the broader curriculum; like race, culture and distinct social classes. Apple expresses concerns of how no social justice can result in turmoil, which I feel in the long run, is educating us on what we can avoid by implementing these ideals. Bullying for one, is a major concern still in the Australian education system, yet without social justice in place, it can still be an issue. Social justice in turn governs how we as members of society should treat each other, henceforth beneficial in an educational environment. The nature and ordering of social relations provide somewhat rules and values of our attitude in society, and what is expected from an individual. In the education system, social justice is ridiculously important, as without it there would no signs of equality or unity.
http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=1516
I think you've written an engaging article on social justice and its relevance to education and made valid points on how it affects the educational system.
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, without the implication of social justice, there would be a lack of unity within our schools and we are unable to progress ahead to broader issues on the spectrum. As Gewirtz (1998) mentions in her article, it is absolutely essential that we are clear and understand those beliefs that constitute fairness. It is relevant as it affects how we treat one another but the most important is that it is "about the nature and ordering of social relations, the formal and informal rules which govern how members of society treat each other." Even if we understand the main definition of social justice, there needs to be set of rules set that relay what society agrees in terms of social justice.
I definitely agree that social justice is important for the education system as it affects broader issues such as bullying and racism which are still prevalent.
References
Gewirtz, S. (1998) Conceptualizing social justice in education:
mapping the territory, Journal of Education Policy, 13:4, 469-484