Exploring social justice within a high school classroom

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain insight into how social justice is defined and engaged within a school and classroom’s culture while understanding the discussion and decisions of teachers and students made within a high school history class with an embedded service-learning component. The researcher used data from participant observations, site visits, and interviews that revealed multiple realities of the social justice exploration course and the interactions amongst the participants, student critical self-reflection of their socialization into unequal relationships and its implications, analysis of the mechanisms of oppression, and the ability to challenge these hierarchies. The case (a class in a high school) is a bounded social system (Stake, 1978) and to understand the system the researcher had to explore all the interacting parts including the school, meetings, as well as the service-learning trip in Mississippi. Although students in the history class engaged in aspects of social justice and discussed the challenges that were present, it did not reflect in the culture of the total school population. Beyond race or cultural issues, a lack of socioeconomic diversity affected the school culture in a negative manner. The silent minority developed as being significant as it relates to students’ class and access to resources of participants that were explored. Participants criticized gender and sexuality, as they discussed their experiences in the school and classrooms. The findings led to recommendations for school administration to focus on addressing social justice issues within classroom and school culture through professional development for staff, diversifying school faculty and students, and creating a safe space for students of color, like a Black Student Union to create a more inclusive and equal opportunity atmosphere for all students.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Levison, Shaunita

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ward- Hood, Denice
• Dyson, Anne Haas
• Trent, William T.
• Welton, Anjalé

• Social Justice Education
• Race
• Power
• Privilege
• Whiteness
• Classroom Pedagogy
• Diverse Classroom

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2021 Shaunita Levison

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113187

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/113187