Social Studies Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences of Social Justice

Year 2016, Volume: 16 Issue: 64, 0 - 0, 15.07.2016

Sercan Bursa , Arife Figen Ersoy

Abstract

Problem Statement: Social justice addresses inequality in society, including economic inequality, global migration, racism, xenophobia, prejudice against disabled people, and class discrimination. In Turkey, social studies curriculum aims to cultivate active, democratically minded citizens who value justice, independence, peace, solidarity, tolerance, freedom, and respect and demonstrate critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, social participation, and empathy. Purpose: Since social justice education affects teachers‘ values, beliefs, experiences, practices, and views on social justice, we aimed to understand social studies teachers‘ perceptions and experiences of social justice. Methods: Following a phenomenological research design selected in accordance with maximum variation sampling, we recruited 10 teachers for our sample. We collected data by conducting semi-structured interviews with the teachers and classroom observations of four of them. We analyzed data by following an inductive approach. Findings: Teachers perceived the concept of social justice in terms of equality, justice, discrimination, human rights, respect, and tolerance. Teachers expressed their sensitivity to equalitarianism, as well as their efforts to prevent discrimination in their daily lives, abide by social rules, protect the environment, and not violate disabled citizens. A few teachers

reported their active engagement in the activities of non-governmental organizations, and all teachers generally indicated that the development of their perceptions of social justice had been affected by their families, educational backgrounds, living environment, and the schools where they work. The teachers expressed not discriminating students, exhibiting positive attitudes toward them, and to some extent, demonstrating aspects of human rights, democracy, and environmental protectionism during lessons. However, teachers indicated no perceptions of struggles against injustice and did not report having experiences with such struggles during lessons. In general, their experiences were affected by their perceptions, their experiences in non-governmental activities, curricula, and course textbooks, and the socio-cultural structure of their schools. Conclusions and Recommendations: Social studies teachers‘ perceptions of social justice were consistent with their experiences demonstrated during lessons. The teachers mentioned several examples of historical and recent social injustice, but did not conduct any discussions or solicit suggestions about how to overcome such injustices. It is thus necessary to reconsider pre- and in-service training programs within the context of social justice and education. Keywords: Social justice, Social studies, Citizenship education, Social justice education, Phenomenology

References

• Adams, M., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1997). Teaching for diversity and social
• Justice: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.
• Agarwal, R. (2012). Perceiving possibility in teaching for social justice: Finding hope
• without illusion. Journal of Multiculturalism in Education, 7(3), 1-31.
• Apple, M. W. (2004). Ideology and curriculum (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
• Au, W. (2009). Social studies, social justice: W(h)ither the social studies in high-stakes
• testing? Teacher Education Quarterly, 36(1), 43-58.
• Ayers, W. (1998). Foreword. In W. Ayers, J. Hunt, & T. Quinn (Eds.), Teaching for
• social justice: A democracy and education reader (pp.17-30). New York, NY:
• Teachers College.
• Banks, J. A. (1993). Multicultural education: Historical development, dimensions, and
• practice. Review of Research in Education, 19, 3-49.
• Banks, J. A., & Banks C. M. (2007). Multicultural education, issues and perspectives. (6th
• ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
• Bell, L. A. (2007). Theoretical foundations for social justice education. In M. Adams,
• L. A. Bell, & P. Griffin (Eds.), Teaching for diversity and social justice (pp 1–14).
• New York, NY: Routledge.
• Bender-Slack, D., & Raupach, M. P. (2008). Negotiating standards and social justice ın
• the social studies: Educators‘ perspectives. The Social Studies, 99, 255-259.
• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative
• Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
• Brooks, J., & Thompson, E. (2005). Social justice in the classroom. Educational
• Leadership, 63(1), 48-52.
• Bruccoleri, C. (2008). Perceptions of the principal's role in facilitating and promoting social
• justice education in schools. Unpublished master thesis. Alberta: The University
• of Calgary.
• Ciardiello, A. V. (2010). "Talking Walls": Presenting a case for social justice poetry in
• literacy education. The Reading Teacher, 63, 464-473.
• Clark, M., & Sheelagh, D. (2006). Teaching for diversity, social justice, and global
• awareness. European Journal of Teacher Education, 29, 371-386.
• Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
• traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Creswell, J. W. (2008). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
• approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Ersoy, A. F. (2014). Active and democratic citizenship education and its challenges in
• social studies classrooms. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 55, 1-20.
• Fujiyoshi, K. F. (2015). Becoming a social justice educator. Democracy & Education,
• (1), 1-6.
• Furman, G. C., & Shields, C. M. (2005). How can educational leaders promote and
• support social justice and democratic community in schools? In W. E.
• Firestone & C. Riehl (Eds.). A new agenda for research in educational leadership
• (pp.119-137). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Glesne, C. (2012). Nitel araştırmaya giriş [Becoming qualitative researcher: An
• introduction]. A. Ersoy & P. Yalcinoglu, (Trans.Eds.). Ankara: Anı.
• Good, R. A. (2010). Social studies teachers who teach toward social justice: An examination
• of life histories. Unpublished dissertation. St. Louis: University of Missouri.
• Grant, C. A., & Gibson, M. L. (2013). ―The path of social justice‖: A human rights
• history of social justice education. Equity & Excellence in Education. 46(1), 81-
• Grant, C. A., & Gillette, M. (2006). A candid talk to teacher educators about
• effectively preparing teachers who can teach everyone‘s children. Journal of
• Teacher Education, 57, 292-299.
• Grant, C., & Agosto, V. (2008). Teacher capacity and social justice in teacher
• education. In Cochran-Smith, M., Feiman-Nemster, S., McIntyre, D., &
• Demers, K. (Eds.), Handbook of research in teacher education: Enduring questions
• in changing contexts (pp. 175–200). New York, NY: Taylor &Francis.
• Henderson, M. A. (2009). We all make a difference: Social justice education through servicelearning
• and critical literacy. Unpublished dissertation. Indiana University.
• Hooks, B. (1981). Ain’t I a woman: Black women and feminism. Boston: South End.
• Kelly, D. M., & Brandes, G. M. (2001). Shifting out of "neutral": Beginning teachers'
• struggles with teaching for social justice. Canadian Journal of Education, 26, 437-
• Ladson-Billings, G. (2001). Crafting a culturally relevant social studies approach. In
• E. E. Ross (Ed.), The social studies curriculum (pp. 201-215). Albany: State
• University of New York.
• Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). ―Yes, but how do we do it?‖ Practicing culturally relevant
• pedagogy. In Landsman, J., & Lewis, C. (Eds.), White teachers/diverse
• classrooms: A guide to building inclusive schools, promoting high expectations, and
• eliminating racism (pp. 29-42). Sterling, VA: Stylus.
• Lee, J. H. (2011). Investigating The influences of social studies methods courses on preservice
• teachers with a focus on issues of diversity and social justice: Three case studies.
• Unpublished dissertation. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Lewis, J. B. (2001). Social justice, social studies, social foundations. The Social Studies,
• (5), 189-192.
• Lund, D. E. (2006). Waking up the neighbors: Surveying multicultural and antiracist
• education in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Multicultural Perspectives, 8(1), 35-43.
• McGee, E. O., & Hostetler, A. L. (2014). Historicizing mathematics and
• mathematizing social studies for social justice: A call for integration. Equity &
• Excellence in Education, 33(1), 28-34.
• McKenzie, K. B., et al. (2008). From the field: A proposal for educating leaders for
• social justice. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(1), 111-138.
• McLaren, P. (2003). Life in schools: An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundations
• of education (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
• MEB (2005). Sosyal bilgiler dersi (4-5. sınıflar) ögretim programi [Social studies curriculum
• (Grade 4-5)]. Talim ve Terbiye Kurulu Baskanlıgı. Retrieved
• fromhttp://ttkb.meb.gov.tr/program2.aspx?islem=2&kno=39
• Mertens, D. M. (2005). Research and Education in Education and Psychology. Thousand
• Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Moustakas, C. E. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• NCSS. (1994). Expectations of excellence: Curriculum standards for social studies.
• Washington, D.C. New York.
• Ozturk, F. (2014). Sosyal bilgiler ogretmenlerinin kuresel egitim bilgi, deneyim ve
• uygulamaları [Social studies teachers‘ knowledge, experiences and instructions
• regarding global education]. Unpublished master thesis. Eskisehir: Anadolu
• University.
• Patterson, C. H. (1973). Humanistic education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Patton, M. Q. (2014). Nitel arastirma ve degerlendirme yöntemleri [Qualitative research &
• evaluation methods]. M . Butun, & S. B. Demir (Trans. Eds.) Ankara: Pegem.
• Philpott, R. J. (2009). Exploring new teachers’ understandings and practice of social justice
• education. Unpublished dissertation. Ottawa: Simon Fraser University.
• Polat, S. (2007). Egitim politikalarının sosyal adalet acisindan sonucları konusunda yonetici
• ve ogretmen gorusleri [Educational policies social justice in terms of results
• about view of administrator and teachers]. Unpublished dissertation. Ankara:
• Ankara University.
• Robertson, S. E. (2008). Teaching for social justice: A case study of one elementary teacher’s
• experience with implementing social justice education in the social studies.
• Unpublished dissertation. The University of Texas at Austin.
• Rubin, B. C., & Justice, B. (2005). Preparing social studies teachers to be just and
• democratic: problems and possibilities. In N. M. Michelli & D. L. Keiser (Eds.),
• Teacher education for democracy and social justice (pp. 79–103). New York, NY:
• Routledge.
• Samuels, G. L. (2014). Reflections in the classroom: Perspectives on teaching for social
• justice from secondary social studies educators. Unpublished dissertation.
• University of South Florida.
• Sleeter, C. E., & Grant, C. A. (2007). Making Choices for multicultural education: Five
• approaches to race, class, and gender, (6th ed.). NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
• Storms, S. B. (2012). Preparing students for social action in a social justice education
• course: What works? Equity & Excellence in Education, 45, 547–560.
• The Commission on Social Justice (1998). What is social justice? In Franklin, J. (Ed.),
• Social policy and social justice: The IPPR reader (pp. 37-50). Cambridge: Polity
• Press.
• Tomul, E. (2009). Ilkogretim okullarindaki sosyal adalet uygulamalarina iliskin
• yonetici gorusleri [Opinions of administrators on social justice in elementary
• school]. Egitim ve Bilim, 34(152), 126-137.
• Tungaraza, C. (2007). What is equal opportunity and social justice. Retrieved from
• http://www.tlc.murdoch.edu.au/eosj/
• Turhan, M. (2007). Genel ve mesleki lise yoneticilerinin etik liderlik davranislarinin
• okullardaki sosyal adalet uzerindeki etkisi [Educational policies social justice in
• terms of results about view of administrator and teachers]. Unpublished
• dissertation. Elazıg: Fırat University.
• Wade, R. C. (2004). Citizenship for social justice. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 40(2), 64-68.
• Welton, A. D., Harris, T. O., La Londe, P. G., & Moyer, R. T. (2015). Social justice
• education in a diverse classroom: Examining high school discussions about
• race, power, and privilege. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48(4), 549-570.