Tag Archives: equity

Social Justice in Education: Diversity, Equity, Citizenship

Washington State Kappan: Winter 2015 Call For Manuscripts

Due September 15, 2014

Social Justice in Education: Diversity, Equity, Citizenship

Social justice in education remains crucial to American society and the development of diverse and well-educated citizenry. From issues such as civics and immigrant youth to equity and the transition from high school to college, what it means to support and advocate for social justice in classrooms, schools, communities, and the policy arena is much more than adding statements of tolerance to inherently inequitable systems and structures.

As Sensoy and DiAngelo assert, “Social justice education is not about serving the interests of political correctness. Every single measure of disparity in education is tied to group position — target vs. dominant. Special education and discipline referrals; math, science, and reading literacies; graduation and dropout/push-out rates; test scores, all of what is known as ‘the achievement gap’ are tied to race, class, and gender. This disparity is real. And to ameliorate such disparities and offer meaningful leadership in school contexts at all levels, we must attend to the real, to the concrete and active dimensions — not simply the slogans — of social justice” (2009, p. 348-350).

We invite articles that serve as a catalyst for exploring the real, concrete, active dimensions of social justice from a variety of perspectives. Those interested in submitting a manuscript may want to consider the following questions:

  • In what ways are districts and schools working to support diverse student populations to gain access to programs and to succeed academically?
  • How might issues of social justice be meaningfully integrated with university teacher education programs?
  • What are examples of how social justice education is being implemented through instruction at the classroom level?
  • ·In what ways are ESDs facilitating or supporting social justice initiatives, such as civics education and community-based learning, statewide?
  • What connections can be made between current high-stakes assessment policies and social justice initiatives?
  • What does social justice mean to students, parents, or school communities?

We are calling for theoretical/research articles, teacher-focused articles, and professional materials or book reviews on topics related to this theme. For additional information: https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/wsk/announcement
For manuscript submission author guidelines: https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/wsk/about/submissions – authorGuidelines
For past issues of Washington State Kappan, please go to: http://www.pdkwa.org/
If you have questions, please contact Antony Smith, editor: ansmith@uwb.edu

Workplace No. 23 (2014) Equity, Governance, Economics and Critical University Studies

New issue launched!

Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor
No 23 (2014): Equity, Governance, Economics and Critical University Studies
Table of Contents
http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/workplace/issue/view/182428

Commentary
——–
Critical University Studies: Workplace, Milestones, Crossroads, Respect,
Truth
Stephen Petrina, E. Wayne Ross

Articles
——–
Differences in Black Faculty Rank in 4-Year Texas Public Universities: A
Multi-Year Analysis
Brandolyn E Jones, John R Slate

Academic Work Revised: From Dichotomies to a Typology
Elias Pekkola

No Free Set of Steak Knives: One Long, Unfinished Struggle to Build
Education College Faculty Governance
Ishmael Munene, Guy B Senese

Year One as an Education Activist
Shaun Johnson

Rethinking Economics Education: Challenges and Opportunities
Sandra Ximena Delgado-Betancourth

Book Reviews
——–
Review of Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think
C. A. Bowers

Dr Seuss and Dangerous Citizenship

This past weekend I had the great honor and pleasure to deliver a keynote address to the 6th Annual Equity and Social Justice Conference held at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

I would like to thank the conference organizers for inviting me to participate in an exciting day that included many cutting edge papers as well as a provocative and high energy performance/workshop by the Hip Hop Psychology Performing Arts Movement.

My keynote, titled “Dr Seuss and Dangerous Citizenship” explored the efforts of governments (in British Columbia, Arizona, and Texas) to keep schools “political neutral” and how these actions actually undermine opportunities for objective teaching and curriculum. I outline the contexts of rulings that have restricted the rights of teachers to express political views in BC (specifically in Prince Rupert where teachers have been banned from using particular Dr Seuss books and in a bizarre irony have also been prohibited from wearing t-shirts displaying portions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms). I also outline the attacks on Tucson (AZ) school district’s Mexican American Studies program and the right wing Christian revisions of the Texas history curriculum, which demote Thomas Jefferson and promote St. Thomas Aquinas; deletes abolitionist Harriet Tubman and highlights the Confederacy; and emphasizes the role of religion in American society at the expense of the US Constitutional separation of church and state.

If political expression is repressed and restricted in schools (and it certainly is, as I illustrate in this talk) then there are reduced opportunities to critically examine knowledge claims. The ideology of neutrality that dominates current thought and practice in schools (and teacher education) is sustained by theories of knowledge and conceptions of democracy that constrain rather than widen civic participation and functions to obscure political and ideological consequences of so-called “neutral” schooling, teaching, and curriculum. The consequences include conceptions of the learner as passive; democratic citizenship as a spectator project; and ultimately the maintenance of status quo inequalities in society.

I offer up “dangerous citizenship” as a framework I have developed along with Kevin D. Vinson (University of the West Indies) for re-thinking responses to these conditions and explore the work of interventionist artists as sources of inspiration for teaching and curriculum.

Download the paper and accompanying powerpoint from Academia.edu or below.

Dr Seuss and Dangerous Citizenship Talk

Dr Seuss Dangerous Citizenship PDF version of PPT

CALL FOR PAPERS Conference on Equity and Social Justice

CALL FOR PAPERS

Conference on Equity and Social Justice
2013 Conference Theme
Testing Our Limits: Teaching and Learning
with Courage and Conviction

March 2, 2013 at State University of New York at New Paltz, NY
Conference Website
http://www.equitysocialjustice.org/

Conference Theme Description
Testing Our Limits: Teaching and Learning with Courage and Conviction The stakes could not be higher. Educators today – as well as their students – are working in a world that is being overrun by standardized accountability initiatives that threaten to diminish learning endeavors aimed toward social justice. As K-12 schools and institutions of higher education are increasingly influenced by the implementation of data-driven, privatized and corporate reforms, educators and educational leaders at all levels must strive to ensure that learning and teaching are not reduced to ranked results that are frequently tied to economic outcomes. Authentic teaching and learning cannot be easily quantified: it intends to provide opportunities for
empowerment, agency, and self-actualization. Education in a democratic society is meant to foster the development of active citizens who think critically and act equitably, and educators are charged to keep that promise alive.

Proposals might address topics such as (but not limited to) the following:
• What kinds of data are meaningful in the quest for social justice through education?
• How is standardization affecting pre-service and practicing teachers? Students? Administrators?
• How might the experiences of students, teachers, and administrators in alternative settings inform traditional classrooms?
• How are efforts to achieve social justice and equity affected by the current reforms?
• How can educators use data to resist the negative effects of standardization?
• What is measured by standardized assessments? How can classroom assessments amplify and/or negate the results of standardized assessments?

Conference strands:
• Teaching and Learning for Equity and Social Justice
• Critical Race Studies
• Critical Youth Studies
• Urban Education & Community Partnerships
• “Othering”
• Genocide and Human Rights
• Educational Reform in the 21st Century