Operationalizing Social Justice in Social Studies Education

Teaching for Student and Societal Wellbeing in HPE: Nine Pedagogies for Social Justice

“…We would further like to stress that these pedagogies for social justice should not be seen as unique to HPE as they can equally be adopted by teachers of other school subjects. There is sufficient scholarship in other learning areas to suggest that social justice can be the focus, for instance, in maths (Buell and Shulman, 2019 ), social studies (Misco and Shiveley, 2016 ), science (Barton and Upadhyay, 2010 ) and music (Allsup and Shieh, 2012 ). If we recognize this and collaborate across the whole span of the school curriculum, we will be in a better position to recognize and accept that HPE has a complementary contribution to make rather than an unrealistic all-encompassing one (Tinning, 2010 ).…”

The Middle Social Studies Curriculum as a Site of Struggle for Social Justice in Education

“…However, before taking up the models in more detail, it is important to highlight a few barriers to their usage in social studies classes outside of the shrinking of curriculum covered near the beginning of chapter. First, although social studies offers a unique location to question past and present inequities while working for a more just future (Misco & Shiveley, 2016), "social studies education has, unfortunately, primarily been a mechanism that helps (re)produce dominant conceptions of our social world, while at the same time silencing and marginalizing localized, indigenous, and other ways of knowing" (DeLeon & Ross, 2010, p. x). This is to say social studies curriculum has traditionally reinforced United States' exceptionalism without problematizing the continued unjust treatment of various groups that makes up a major portion of the "American story."…”

“…Misco and Shiveley's (2016) three part framework for operationalizing social justice in Social Studies Education rests on the assumption that "no discipline is better positioned to examine critical social issues from multiple perspectives" (p. 172). Misco and Shiveley (2016) argue social studies education is able to confront and to undermine social injustices by placing an emphasis on certain dispositions, reflective thinking, and controversial issues. The scholars offer the intentional development of certain dispositions, or habits of the mind, such as appreciation of diversity, open-mindedness, critical thinking, and tolerance for ambiguity as a starting point for the open analysis of social justice issues.…”

Participatory Mapping in a Developing Country Context: Lessons from South Africa

“…Justice is multi-faceted [52], but two dimensions are particularly relevant in the context of this paper: social justice and epistemic justice. Social justice has its roots in philosophy and it is widely used in social sciences [53], legal debates [54] and in everyday discussions. In broad terms, social justice refers to both a process and a goal [55], in which the benefits and burdens of society are divided between its citizens, not at random, but according to a set of principles defined by society.…”