Social Justice, Essay Example

There are varying interpretations of “social justice”, from the perspective of education it means what is considered to be fair and equitable.  This particularly applies to leadership in Education and that of School Administrators.  Schools need to create policies that create a socially just environment.  Of particular significance is a study that was carried out for MacKenzie State High School in Queensland Australia.  They had a social justice policy already embedded with the Mission Statement of the School.  The School wished to conduct an investigation in this to determine adequacy and whether these policies were being carried out.

The investigation was carried out in conjunction with a sample of students from the school and had the following significant findings:

1. Thirteen students made comments on the rights of the individual to succeed or fail at school.  The concept of this being a “level playing field”, hence a liberal view of social justice. People are not treated equally at school and those with better class backgrounds are given educational advantages
2. Equity was demonstrated in the school uniform policy. Poorer students were provided with financial support for clothing and shoes. Several students identified that the poor social groups in the school were discriminated against and cited incidents of which this group were blamed but later presumed innocent
3. Certain interviewees stated that high achievers in the class were given preferential treatments by the teachers. This created loss of self esteem and respect amongst the non high achievers in the school

Conclusions

Resulting from all of the analysis, the school found that it was not dealing fairly and equally with all classes of society in the school. There was ample evidence to support discrimination of the poorer and lower classes in the school. This actually contravened the school mission statement  and only by involving the students directly in the study of ” social justice” were they able to discover the truth.  (Tony Rossi)

Works Cited

Tony Rossi, Frank Crowther, Bronwyn Herbertson. Social Justice and School Policy: A Case Study of a School Advisory Council. 30 11 2007 {Draft Study Paper only} . 12 11 2009 <http://www.aare.edu.au/97pap/crowc338.htm>.