Social Justice Awareness of Middle School Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the social justice awareness levels of middle school students in relation to various variables, as well as to reveal the students' views on social justice. The quantitative dimension of the research was formed by 421 students studying in secondary schools of different socioeconomic levels in Denizli, and the qualitative dimension was formed by 24 students using criterion sampling in the research that used the explanatory design, which is one of the mixed-method designs. The researcher's "Social Justice Awareness" scale was employed as a quantitative data collection tool in the study. A semi-structured interview form was used to collect qualitative data. Quantitative data of the study were analyzed with the Mann Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis test. The data collected from the interviews were presented in the form of codes, categories, and themes. Direct quotations are used to demonstrate the students' observations and views. As a result of the research, it was determined that female students had higher levels of social justice awareness, and there were significant differences in the social justice awareness levels of the students in terms of their grade level, their parents' educational status, and their families' monthly income levels. The qualitative findings of the study support the quantitative findings. What the students understood from the concept of social justice was gathered under a single theme as "Social Justice in terms of Social Order". This theme includes the categories of democracy, psychological needs, economy, education, and personal development. It is seen that most students explain their social justice perceptions through the concepts of injustice, inequality, and unequal treatment resulting from income distribution, and they do not address components of social justice such as race, multiculturalism, politics, and gender issues. As a result, it is evident that the students understand the concept of social justice, but they lack more precise information about the subject's content.