Social Justice and Education in the 21st Century

The disparity in educational opportunities and outcomes for African American students compared to their White peers is well documented. While many studies look at secondary school and university data, the importance of formative elementary years should not be negated. Early school experiences are vital and results from this study are consistent with research showing race is a key variable influencing student outcomes.

A strength-based framework will be used when examining the findings and making recommendations. A strength-based framework is evident in asset-based pedagogy and culturally relevant pedagogy as both require educators to examine the strengths that students bring to school rather than focusing what skills they do not have. A popular explanation for the disparity in test scores between African American students and their peers is to focus on student deficits. The main problem with the deficit approach is that it uses White middle-class culture as the norm. This chapter argues that a strength-based theory allows for the inclusion and growth of all students which would serve to decrease the disparity in test scores.

The study in this chapter utilizes information from the 2011 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K:2011) conducted by the United States National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This study followed a large cohort of children from kindergarten through fifth grade. Only data from kindergarten entry to third grade was presented in this research study. ECLS-K:2011 gives multiple cognitive tests to students and ongoing, in-depth interviews were conducted with the test subject’s parents and teachers at least annually, but more often in the early years. The chapter will analyze and describe the findings from the ECLS-K:2011 data.

Findings indicated a slight gap in reading and math scores between African American students and their White peers upon kindergarten entry. With poverty having a small effect size, data analysis showed that by the end of third grade, this gap had increased to White students’ benefit. This gap increased by 166% in math and by 155% in reading over a 4-year period. African American students consistently scored at the same level or lower than their White peers at a lower socioeconomic level. These findings merit a closer look at factors affecting early educational experiences for African American students as poverty had a greater overall impact on White students than African American students.

Utilizing a strength-based theory is consistent with social justice as it challenges the usage of an educational approach that disempowers students beginning upon kindergarten entry. Rather than African American students be labelled as deficient, a strength-based approach seeks to build from the strengths the student already possesses. This approach does not force assimilation for students to be successful. It offers them to opportunity for validation and understanding rather than imposing the White middle-class culture as the norm. A strengths-based approach, especially culturally relevant pedagogy, has been adopted by many educators in an effort empower students. The study findings presented in this chapter show the prevalence of racism in early educational experiences for African American students. The recommendations suggest that a different pedagogical approach is necessary to achieve greater educational equity in the United States.

Framed within notions of social justice, inequality of opportunity and Bourdieu’s forms of capital, this chapter examines the gaps in educational and labour market outcomes in South Africa and how they have changed over time. With social policies aimed at redressing inequalities introduced from 1994, we track the changes in school mathematics achievements from 2003 to 2015; university graduation rates for science, engineering and health related (SET) fields from 2008 to 2017 and demographic shifts of workers in high-skill occupations from 2008 to 2018.

Multiple data sources were used for the analysis including the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, the Higher Education Management Information System and the Quarterly Labour Force Survey. The analysis showed that while overall school and university inequalities are decreasing, alongside improved mathematical achievements and graduation rates, access to various forms of capital continues as a strong determinant for educational success over time. There have been tangible increases in diversity by race and gender absorption of technicians and professionals, but White males continue to dominate managerial positions, resulting in narrow upward shifts for Africans and women. Despite notable improvement in educational successes, African women remain the most under-represented group at the higher occupational levels, especially in the private sector.

To achieve educational and labour market outcomes that are more just we propose an expanded framework which includes the economic and resource capital needed to address structural factors, as well as supporting the development of cultural and social capital for those from historically disadvantaged backgrounds so that they are better able to connect to institutions and workplaces. Educational institutions must be strengthened and inter-institutional variances decreased. The labour must be better monitored and sanctions applied for the non-achievement of equity targets. At the same time cultural changes must prevail with White—and male—privilege being acknowledged.

The South African Ministry of Education has made significant progress in reducing inequality between schools; however, such inequality persists. Students from wealthier households that are able to meet their financial obligations attend well-resourced schools that are characterised by high-quality education. This chapter critically examines issues of equality in education within the framework of social justice, using theories of Sen and Bourdieu. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015 Grade 9 data were used (HSRC, 2015) with particular attention to variables that highlight Bourdieu’s forms of capital, and capabilities as mentioned by Sen. Special reference was made to the TIMSS 2015 contextual framework. The analysis used a hierarchical linear modelling technique which is uniquely able to differentiate between variation within and between schools, indicative of inequalities between and within schools.

The current study employed the forms of capital identified by Bourdieu and Sen’s capabilities approach to identify school contextual variables which could be converted into capabilities, which will in turn provide students with an opportunity to achieve functionings. Two of the three types of capital (economic and social) were found to be significantly associated with academic achievement: for economic capital, school resources were identified; and within social capital, dimensions of school climate were identified as significant. The results show that school context matters, and that creating a school that is free of any form of violence, that places emphasis on academic achievement, and where discipline policies are adhered to, will provide students with the opportunity to achieve better functionings. The main aim of any school should be to provide a quality education to all students regardless of their home background or the school they attend—this is a sign of homogeneity between schools. From the results it is clear that by placing more emphasis on the use of resources and school climate, the variation between schools reduced significantly.

Since 1994, the South African government has promulgated large-scale policy overhauls to redress the segregated and unequal apartheid era education system. Despite some progress, the system continues to exhibit inequality. Through a textual analysis, this chapter analyses and critically reflects on 20 pieces of education policy and legislation promulgated from 1994 to 2019. Using the conceptual lens of social justice and focusing on vulnerable groups of learners who come from poor households, live in rural areas, or have special needs, we identify aspects that facilitate and hinder the achievement of social justice in terms of what is being provided to learners. The government has made strides in addressing some of the inequalities, such as improved access to schooling and giving policy attention to learners with special needs. However, some policy goals are symbolic and have led to the unintended consequences of fostering inequality in educational provision. There are shortcomings with respect to policy attention for rural learners and lack of implementation of special needs policy. We recommend that implemented policies explicitly pursue a social justice agenda to ensure that all learners are accommodated in the new schooling landscape, and to ensure that disempowered and vulnerable learners are not left further behind.

The majority of people with disabilities reside in developing countries, which have a high number of people living in poverty. Disability exacerbates poverty due to reduced employment and increased medical costs, while poverty exacerbates the incidence and effect of disability due to lack of access to care. Studies have shown that disability results in a reduced chance of attaining appropriate levels of education, higher rates of unemployment, limited/no access to health facilities, or services and schools with no resources. Although equality and educational rights for disabled students are documented under the South African Constitution (1994), catering for the needs of students with disability in a developing country is challenging. In South Africa literature on the incidence of disability, availability of health services, schooling provision and outcomes, and impact of interventions is scarce.

This chapter focuses on childhood disability and the importance of early identification and intervention, from a human rights and social justice perspective, for providing quality education for disabled children. South African policies pertaining to education are discussed, with a focus on policy related specifically to children with disabilities.

South Africa has a number of comprehensive policies with reference to the education and rights of children with disabilities. However, the implementation of policies is weak. For the evaluation and adequate implementation of policies standardised measures for early disability screening and intervention are needed. National statistics will increase awareness of disability and feed into the cycle of screening, early identification and early intervention.

The establishment of a common non-medical definition of disability, including accurate and consistent categorisation of the different components of disability, will improve the awareness and allow for increased advocacy for the rights of children with disabilities. Acknowledging the role of parent advocacy and community involvement in the equitable education of children with disabilities is essential.

South Africa’s constitutional imperatives of social inclusion, social justice, respect for diversity and the transformation of society are reflected in broad education policy. This includes the mainstreaming of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) issues in education policy and frameworks. However despite formal provision for LGBTI inclusion, the purpose of this chapter, which is theoretically grounded in the tradition of social justice education, is to present varied perspectives showing that much needs to be done for LGBTI-inclusive policy to be translated into school-based practice. Methodologically, the chapter uses a desktop study and document analysis to elucidate tensions between the aspirations of the post-apartheid legislative and policy space, pervasive discrimination in schools and increased levels of agency among LGBTI young people. Despite homophobia, transphobia and backlash against Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), the perspectives presented in this chapter foreground the increasing levels of visibility, protest and agency among LGBTI young people in schools. This chapter concludes by building on the existing work in social justice education and CSE in South Africa and by recommending ways to ensure the presence and visibility of LGBTI learners in South African schools.

Using the theoretical framework of the education sociologist Martin Trow, this chapter looks at the changes which the South African higher education system goes through between 1993 and the present. The argument that is made is that the system ‘tips over’ from being an elite one to a mass system. The tipping over the chapter shows is the result of a combination of top-down and bottom-up factors: the restructuring of higher education by the new democratic government and, related, the shift that takes place in the class composition of the national population, particularly the rapid emergence of a black middle-class. This development, it is suggested here, has important knock-on effects for higher education. Enrolment rates rise rapidly. This correlation between shifts in the class composition of the country and the increase in higher education enrolments is an important one to work with sociologically. While causality in this relationship cannot be categorically demonstrated, the alignment in the social profiles of what is taking place in the broader society and in the exclusive sites of the university is striking. Two important effects to note are, firstly, a change in the composition of the student population—majority white to majority black—and also a transition in the system from being an elite one to a mass system. It is this combined change, it is argued here, which South Africa’s 25-year transition essentially encompasses.

The chapter examines the effects of access and distribution of financial aid on college access and retention of African Americans. Traditionally, higher education has been touted as the most viable means of upward social mobility for those below the middle class. In particular, many African Americans embraced college education as a critical credential to middle-class status. By examining structural inequities in federal policies, the authors reveal the social injustice impacts of financial aid policies on the educational aspirations of African Americans.

This chapter selects five federal policies for case study evaluation; these federal policies were selected by their quantifiable impacts of African American students. Structural racism is embedded into the fabric of America and therefore we utilize this paradigm to assist in our analysis of the long-term impacts that the federal policies had on African American students. The analysis unveils the structural racism embedded in financial aid policies that continuously failed to equalize the higher education landscape for Black students. Based on the review of the five federal policies, this chapter recommends that higher education lobbying groups, as well as universities, continue to directly engage with the policy making process and develop taskforces to determine institutional racism and appropriate responses.

The government-funded National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in South Africa provides financial assistance to low-income university students. Recognising that a just higher education system is one that ensures that a student’s background does not predetermine both their chance of gaining access to, and successfully completing a qualification, we use administrative data to evaluate the extent to which NSFAS has improved higher education participation and affected student performance in universities. We compare the demographics of NSFAS recipients to those of the overall student population, and examine the race and gender composition across the distribution of NSFAS award sizes. We also examine how the financial aid scheme affected student performance as measured by both the subject pass rate and the likelihood of passing all subjects. Our results reveal that over the period 2000–2012, NSFAS has successfully increased the number of recipients and targeted historically disadvantaged individuals and women. Moreover, there appears to be a positive relationship between award size and student performance. Turning to institutional differences, relative to their share of the overall student population, African students were over-represented among NSFAS beneficiaries at historically white institutions (HWIs) and merged institutions created by the merger of historically black institutions (HBIs) with HWIs, and proportionally represented at HBIs. Women were slightly over-represented as NSFAS beneficiaries at HWIs and HBIs, and proportionally represented at merged institutions. Further, the results suggest that there is a positive relationship between NSFAS award size and student performance and that this relationship is strongest at HBIs and weakest at HWIs.

The failure of the U.S. education system to create access to educational opportunities in STEM for Black Americans is a social justice issue reflecting a long history of exclusion and barriers to the success of Blacks. While the demographics of the U.S. population are in transition, the National Science Foundation’s report on STEM Education Data and Trends (2019) suggests that representation of Blacks and Hispanics in the U.S. STEM Workforce has fallen significantly behind their representation in the population. This underrepresentation of Blacks in the education pipeline and STEM workforce has a significant impact on basic research science, education, and training in STEM. The National Science Foundation’s NCSES data (NSF, 2016–2017) found that in 2016 only 8.27% of S&E Bachelor degrees were awarded to African Americans and only 6.55% of African Americana with Bachelor’s degrees were in S&E occupations. A significant increase in the presence and participation of Blacks in the STEM workforce is urgently needed. The lack of Blacks in STEM careers illustrates the need for interventions that increase their participation in STEM at the undergraduate and graduate levels, pursue careers in STEM, and influence future research and the educations of future scientists. This chapter proposes a comprehensive holistic model designed to serve as the foundation for interventions and policy recommendations that recognize the culture and cultural identity of students, as well as the individual personality characteristics of students. The proposed model facilitates the creation of a supportive and effective educational environment that is responsive to personality and cultural identity as a key component of enhancing academic engagement and STEM preparation. In addition to effective practices and high expectations, the model proposes that academic and STEM training programs be designed to recognize and appreciate the cultural experiences of the child and use strategies that support that cultural orientation. Some elements of this model exist in various programs that reflect best practices in the training of Black students in STEM (Maton, Pollard, McDougall Weise, & Hrabowski, Mt. Sinai Journal of Medicine, 79(5), 610–23, 2012; Gasman & Arroyo, 2014).

Social justice is an important dimension of South Africa’s democratic commitment and is also a key function of universities in terms of addressing racial and gender inequalities related to access and success and the underrepresentation of Black women. This study examined the ways in which Black women professors advanced the social justice perspective in South African higher education. Based on a social constructionist paradigm, this study used Fraser’s social justice perspective, supplemented with Yosso’s concept of community cultural wealth to understand how Black women professors were advancing social justice in institutions of higher education. The Black women professors who were interviewed were recruited from two South African universities. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data, and the data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study revealed four ways in which Black women professors advanced the social justice perspective in higher education. These were: achievement of professorship, conducting research for social justice, a transformative leadership style and mentoring of other Black academics. The findings of this study implied that more needs to be done to increase the number of Black women professors as, due to their unique identity, they serve multiple purposes to advance the social justice perspective in higher education.

Social justice refers to fair and just access to resources, opportunities, and privileges and acknowledges the rights of marginalized groups to actively participate in decision-making in society. Because it is divided by race, socioeconomic status, and other identity markers, the United States must make the full range of engineering career pathways available to all Americans by identifying and removing roadblocks to the participation of groups traditionally underrepresented in science and engineering. A majority of studies on women in engineering focus on non-Hispanic White women; similarly, most studies of African Americans in engineering focus on males; consequently, African American women continue to be overlooked by scholars. United States policies have focused on expanding participation in the science and engineering workforce in terms of broad demographic categories such as race, ethnicity, and gender. However, this focus is problematic because data on race/ethnic groups are not disaggregated by gender, and data on gender are not disaggregated by race/ethnicity.

The inclusion of African languages as additional languages of learning, teaching and research is seen as a step in the right direction towards satisfying the aspirations of an African linguistic renaissance, which seeks to elevate the status of African languages in academia. As part of a national quest to transform higher education institutions, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa implemented a bilingual language policy under which an African language—isiZulu—should be used alongside English as a language of learning and teaching. Utilizing an African linguistic renaissance theoretical framework, this chapter uses data from an earlier thesis by this author to explore the attitudes of UKZN staff and students towards the university’s bilingual language policy and the extent to which this may help to realize an African linguistic renaissance. The chapter mainly adopts a qualitative approach using UKZN as the case study, although it also seeks to quantify some of the data, which was collected through in-depth interviews and questionnaires. This chapter shows that the university’s bilingual language policy received support among the isiZulu-speaking staff and students, in line with their demographic representation at UKZN. It further argues that the investment made by UKZN in developing the isiZulu language for academic proficiency at university level is justified by the impacts of the policy, contradicting arguments against using African languages for teaching and learning at university level which have been made on the grounds that they are inadequate for this function. The findings pose a challenge to African intellectuals and other South African universities, who need to assist in bolstering the importance of African languages.

Students with disabilities are less likely than nondisabled students to graduate from institutions of higher education. The goal of this chapter is thus to provide a critical review of key ways in which people with disabilities have been, and may continue to be, underserved by higher education in the U.S. Adapting a social justice framework, this chapter first provides a social history that contextualizes people with disabilities as a socially disadvantaged and marginalized group. This review also describes the important social strides people with disabilities have made, emphasizing the dominant role of higher education in the struggle for equal rights and full social participation. Then, and working toward an understanding of contemporary obstacles to participatory parity for students with disabilities in higher education, the next section presents meta-analysis findings concerning current experiences of students with disabilities in higher education. We conclude with a summary of key issues that undermine a framework of inclusion and offer a set of recommendations toward the goal of participatory parity.

Social justice refers to distribution of fair and just access to resources and opportunities and acknowledges the rights of groups to participate in decision-making in society. Based on the premise that education and society are intrinsically related and that the fundamental purpose of education is to improve social justice, this chapter examines two educational models of excellence—Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU). TCUs and HBCUs were founded to educate segregated and marginalized populations—American Indians and Blacks. Through the lens of structural racism and using a mixed methods approach, this chapter analyzes indicators of the success of HBCUs and TCUs as models of institutional excellence that educate and empower Blacks and American Indians to actively participate in the fight for social justice.

Findings. Although many HBCU and TCU students are first generation, low-income, and some are academically underprepared, they have higher rates of graduating and succeeding than similar students from non-HBCUs and non-TCUs. Both TCUs and HBCUs are unique institutions that combine personal attention with cultural relevance, encouraging students to succeed in higher education and beyond. TCUs were created and chartered by tribal government to provide higher education opportunities to American Indians through programs that are locally and culturally based, holistic, and supportive (http://​www.​aihec.​org/​who-we-serve/​docs/​TCU_​intro.​pdf). Even though Blacks and Native Americans have options to attend other institutions, HBCUs and TCUs not only educate but also empower students to create, implement, and assess strategies to effectively address issues of social justice in their communities, the nation, and the world.

The purpose of the chapter is to determine how open distance learning (ODL) can achieve the goals of social justice in a developing context, keeping the related challenges and achievements in mind, with specific reference to the University of South Africa (UNISA). Equity in higher education is seen as a human right for all citizens to have a fair opportunity to develop their potential. ODL has the potential to provide access to students who would otherwise have been excluded from higher education. However, because of a diverse student profile, not all students have access to digital technology, which can lead to new forms of injustices. Within a critical research paradigm, the research used a case study design and document analysis to gather data. The findings show that with the needed support and guidance, ODL has the potential to be a key vehicle in addressing access to higher education for all. With specific reference to UNISA, the findings show that the institution has made progress in achieving digital access and social justice, although it should be seen as a process that still needs progress and monitoring. A cautionary picture is, therefore, painted, particularly regarding the lived reality of digital equity and social justice in a developing world context.

This chapter will focus on the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) and scrutinize whether AI is used to reinforce the social construct of racism or if it promises to provide opportunity and justice in areas where previously they lacked. Throughout this chapter, common examples of the everyday use of AI will be discussed to provide an understanding of how this technology has permeated through multiple sectors of life with the intention to continuously expand. This chapter will also explore the notion of AI inheriting the bias of its creator. This brings into question who is building this technology, how this technology should be used, and who is the intended beneficiary of its use. For the experts and novices in the field, this chapter calls for critical consideration for what is being developed. For the individuals unfamiliar with AI, this chapter is intended to bring awareness of the technology being used around them and how it has already impacted their life.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is set to have a major impact on every aspect of society. Yet, little understanding has been generated on how women, in particular, may be affected by this technological epoch. Through an intersectional socio-technological theoretical approach, this chapter explores the implications of the 4IR and its associated technologies—specifically artificial intelligence (AI)—on women in South Africa. Preceded by a discussion on the theoretical approach employed here, this chapter is structured in three substantial parts addressing: first, South Africa’s policy position on the 4IR; second, the role of women historically in the development of computer science and global debates on AI and gender bias; and third, how the global experience of women and 4IR-related technologies is and may impact on women in South Africa. The analysis indicates that if advanced 4IR technologies and policies that seek to govern their use and development do not take into account the values and lived experiences of those they will effect, it can result in discrimination and bias, particularly for women. Overall, an intersectional understanding of the way in which gender is implicated by and implicates in turn the design and development of technology must be adopted in South Africa’s policy responses to the 4IR in order not to, proverbially at least, leave anyone behind.

While disasters like the coronavirus pandemic, hurricanes, and wildfires tend to negatively affect large swaths of people, they also bring preexisting inequalities and social vulnerabilities into sharp focus. In many cases, disasters often reinforce structural inequalities existing in society during crises moments, and then subsequently exacerbate inequalities in the aftermath through an unequal recovery process. Disasters and crises have important implications for educational inequalities and schooling. In this chapter, we provide a literature review of how preexisting inequalities by social status and where one lives often cause unequal educational effects during disasters using theoretical insights from the sociology of disasters and the sociology of education. We first summarize how preexisting social inequalities crises and disasters in the United States can lead to unequal learning outcomes during the crisis. Next, we explore how the aftermath of crises tends to exacerbate the aforementioned inequalities through an uneven recovery process, again focusing on the role of education and schooling. While disasters often draw our attention to existing injustices, they also provide us an opportunity to imagine what types of institutional changes are needed to promote a more socially just society and how education may play a role in that vision.