Distributive Justice in Education and Conflicting Interests: Not (Remotely) as Bad as you Think

Abstract

The importance of education and its profound effect on people's life make it a central issue in discussions of distributive justice. However, promoting distributive justice in education comes at a price: prioritising the education of some, as is often entailed by the principles of justice, inevitably has negative effects on the education of others. As a result, all theories of distributive justice in education face the challenge of balancing their requirements with conflicting interests. This article aims to contribute to developing an account of conflicting interests by identifying a category of conflicting interests—non‐positional conflicting interests—the realisation of which does not necessarily disrupt distributive justice. Non‐positional conflicting interests include, for example, the interest in realising one's full potential and parents’ interest in familial relations. The article argues that the core dimensions of non‐positional conflicting interests can usually be realised without upsetting distributive justice, and that actions that do upset distributive justice tend to be peripheral to these interests. Either way, there is no severe friction between distributive justice and non‐positional conflicting interests: in the former cases, both are realised simultaneously. In the latter, tension exists; however, because the infringement on the conflicting interest is of relatively little weight, it is often justified, all things considered, in order to promote distributive justice. The conclusion is that while there are indeed cases in which distributive justice must retreat in the face of other interests, the friction between distributive justice and other interests is actually weaker than meets the eye.

Lifelong Educational and Decolonization Programs for the Batwa Indigenous People of Southwestern Uganda

“…However, what is relevant is that Brighouse's theory demonstrate the importance of dismantling the negative perception of teachers towards indigenous children in the classroom (cf. Harel and Shabar, 2015). The theory also advocates for sensitization and retooling teachers with skills development to accommodate learners' diversity within their classrooms.…”

“…Romm, 2014). Linking this to Harel and Shabar (2015), cultural misrepresentation leads to profound social inequalities, which later create latent clashes between diverse epistemologies henceforth producing a rift between inferior and superior classes. A male participant argues:…”

And That’s Not All: (Sur)Faces of Justice in Philosophy of Education

“…In fact, educational justice is usually viewed "in terms of the relationship between educational resources and educational outcomes" [6] (p. 3). The central role of education in determining individuals' life chances makes it "a central issue for distributive justice" [9]. If distributions of educational resources are uneven, then "whatever inequalities that arise between students as a function of their education will be unjust" [6] (p. 3).…”

“…All three view "the importance of equal access to primary education as central to justice" [10] (p. 467). Obstacles to educational and distributive justice are also typified as conflicting interests [9], unpredictability [11] (p. 439), natural contingencies [12] (p. 473) and even talents [13], along with different interpretations of what talent means.…”

Social justice principles as core concepts in school psychology training, research and practice at a transnational level

“…Its development represents an effort to promote social justice in the Greek education system by providing school psychological services to a much larger population. It can be considered a form of distributive justice, since it aims to extend the provision of psychological services to many key stakeholders in schools (Ben-Shahar, 2015).

Figure 1.Multi-level conceptual framework and practical application of social justice principles in school community: a transnational approach.

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