Term Paper
on Social Justice
All
over the world humans face different conditions depending on the society and
environment they live in. But all humans are born with the same basic necessity
of life that is to be accepted by their own selves and by the world where.
Social justice is a concept, which deals with the fact that people should be
treated fairly concerning their rights, needs and choices as all people are
individuals with their separate identities and a unique personality.
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Social justice is a tremendously vast topic that covers all the aspects of the
environment and culture prevalent in particular societies. Community uplift,
proper education and health services and the basic facilities for survival are
all a part of being socially just. We all understand that effective change
occurs when all sectors of society share an active role in societal improvement
and there are projects which demonstrate that the investment made in one-person
can impact the lives of countless others. By providing community, government and
business leaders with opportunities to improve their skill, social justice
ensures improvement of the quality of life of diverse global populations.
Social justice programs should be initiated which serve institutions of
government, business, and the community by supporting institutional reform,
workforce development, and community growth. Changes in societies and economies
require a constant renewal and expansion of knowledge and skills for all people
and such programs offer education and training models which should address both
formal and non-formal education needs. Social Justice, defined, includes the
basic rights, not just privileges, to which we are all entitled. This includes
equitable access to resources, goods, opportunities, and services without
arbitrary limitations based on observed or interpreted differences between us.
Every person has intrinsic
worth and dignity, respect for the law is fundamental, and freedom from fear is
universal.
A climate of opportunity, mutual respect, and understanding engenders a feeling
that the future should be shared by all community members. There is an absence
of discrimination and harassment based on age, color, disability, ethnic origin,
marital status, race, religious beliefs, sex, and veteran status and the rich
diversity of people, their cultures, and the bonds that tie people together are
appreciated and celebrated.
So, the concept of social justice is to be inculcated within each member of the
society and this requires the principles of justice being taught at earlier
levels of education so that as the child grows up, he knows his rights and is
not exploited in any way possible. In considering teaching for Social Justice,
teaching will strive to develop students' knowledge and
awareness, both theoretical and practical, within the broader context of
education and society. The teaching should be held as a seminar as to help
children understand, and should revolve around readings, films, and community
projects related to Social Justice. The goal of education is to develop teachers
and students' understanding of the importance of social justice so that a
culture appreciating the move towards a more just society develops. Teachers
develop a thinking amongst their pupils that helps them understand life and the
dignity of the human person. Teachers define the role of family, community, and
participation rights and responsibilities. Teachers make one think about the
poor and vulnerable, the dignity of work and the rights of workers, solidarity,
care for God's creation. Effecting change - as both a goal in itself and an
essential tool - demands a generalized capacity to understand the world, why it
works the way it does, the openings for responding, and the likely consequences
of any serious challenge to the status quo. (Singer)
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Who should do social justice? Everyone seems to have an answer to that question.
There is a tendency to delegate the responsibility of doing social justice to
anyone except oneself. A significant challenge is to avoid divisiveness, to
emphasize common ground among social service and social action, education and
advocacy, pro-life and social justice, economic development and environmental
commitment. We need to work together to reflect a comprehensive concern for the
human person. Can effective schooling provide greater social justice for
children from disadvantaged groups and ethnic minorities? Can it provide them
with educational outcomes and life chances more equal to those of more favored
groupings? Researchers and practitioners have substantially debated these
issues, and the research should be reviewed to take some of the developments in
this area and to sketch out some possibilities for action.
The conclusion is that the more successful schools are aiming at transformation
through modifying the content of the curriculum, changing their methods of
teaching, and moving to new styles of organization. While they are appropriate
to their communities, they sought also to enable their students to succeed in
the mainstream of society. Teachers and administration have worked collegially,
and cooperated closely with their communities. Unsuccessful schools, on the
other hand, aimed to reproduce existing social structures. Central to arguments
from both of these perspectives are issues of rights, social justice and equity.
Thus, a number of questions arise regarding the perception of social justice in
relation to the policies and practices toward students with diverse backgrounds:
What can account for the extended period of practice of traditional education,
if it were fundamentally unjust? How can some writers argue for the dismantling
of education based on grounds of equity and social justice while others argue
for the retention of some traditional special education practices on the same
grounds?
Traditionally schooling has functioned on a standard view of social justice. But
as more awareness has come across schools should move towards equality of
treatment to be provided to all students in the form of standard curricula and
instructional provision. Students are then seen to openly compete for the
benefits of educational success. Thus, the distribution of
outcomes is believed to be merit based. Those most deserving of school success
based to personal effort, talent or "intelligence" are most likely to achieve
success through fair and open competition. By coordinating observational and
interview data with children from kindergarten to grade 4, Ruble and Frey
present an intriguing picture of the development of social comparison in
classroom settings. They show developmental changes in the function of
comparison, in the interplay of
knowledge and strategy, and also show the ways in which children come to
accommodate the need for social harmony in their comparison strategies. The
authors point to important parallels between this pattern and the developmental
sequence in social justice. (Masters)
Social Justice education further assumes that impediments to full and equal
participation in democratic educational systems can be identified, understood,
analyzed, and critiqued. Beyond the analysis and critique of the impediments,
Social Justice Education also promotes the creation and implementation of
empowering educational and institutional practices that result in greater social
and educational opportunity and equity. Examples might include helping schools
examine the intended and unintended effects upon students of various
disciplinary practices, or creating within-school family-support centers that
enable schools to draw upon the diverse resources that students and families of
diverse backgrounds bring into the schools. Through its teaching and service
delivery mission, social justice programs of study prepare educators and other
educational professionals (school counselors, teachers, family, school and
community consultants) who can identify and critique restrictive systems, design
corrective strategies, and assist in guiding people toward the design and
implementation of educational environments that promote equity and the
development of a liberated consciousness.
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Social justice education research and interventions are premised on an in-depth
knowledge of the history and experiences of various targeted cultural groups
(Asian Americans, Black Americans, Latinos, Native Americans) and other target
groups (such as disabled students, or gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
students), and their interaction with dominant cultural groups (Americans of
European descent, able-bodied students, heterosexual students). Such a
foundation minimizes a narrow victimization frame of reference and increases the
likelihood of developing change strategies that are grounded on the existing
strengths and resources that individuals and their families and communities
bring to the schooling and the social change process.
Teachers need to develop an environment in the classroom that encourages people
exchanging their views and learning what socially they are entitled to. The
teachers should base their knowledge and research on sources that inform social
justice is interdisciplinary, drawn from anthropology, black and ethnic studies,
cognitive, developmental and social psychology,
education, women's studies, and sociology, and include the following: theories
and research on socialization that informs the development of social identity
and social group affiliations within families, schools, communities and other
social institutions; theories and research on the formation, maintenance, and
interaction among in-groups and out-groups, and
interventions that foster positive inter-group relations; theories and research
on prejudice and discrimination, the dynamics of power and privilege, and
interlocking systems of oppression and on the forms of resistance to oppression
as expressed by individuals, families, schools and communities, and the
processes of empowerment and liberation created and
implemented by individuals, families, schools, communities, and other social
systems. There is research on the interaction of students and families within
multicultural schools and communities. Teachers should use research-based
methods for designing, delivering and evaluating curriculum-based social justice
education; research-based models for designing, delivering and evaluating
system-based social justice interventions within or among families, schools,
school systems, and communities; research-based social justice intervention
strategies such as conflict resolution, collaboration, or advocacy.
All the evidences suggest that social justice is a concept heavily dependent on
teaching because teaching explains the phenomena 'Why social justice?'. Teaching
enables one to understand the reason for having social justice and its
contribution towards personal development and individual uplift.
References
Boggiano A. K., & Ruble D. N. (1979). "Competence and the
over-justification effect: A developmental study". Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 37, 1462- 1468,
Masters; John C., Smith; William P.: Social Comparison, Social Justice, And
Relative deprivation: Theoretical, empirical and policy perspectives: Hillsdale,
NewJersey:1987,
Singer; Daniel: The Terrain Of Social Justice: 2001 Millennium Prize essay,
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