A critical examination of the contention of the existence of a culture justice education at the Vienna International School, Austria

Abstract

What is the foundation for a cultural of justice in a school? Can a curriculum programme alone guarantee that students experience justice and leave school as potential contributors to global justice? Against the background of internationalization and standardization of secondary school education across the world pursued by the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (OESCD), and academic assessment of the International Baccalaureate (IB) school curricula, this chapter examines the basis for asserting that a culture of justice exists at the Vienna International School (Vienna, Austria). It examines whether the adoption of the three IB curriculum programmes (Diploma Programme, Middle Years Programme and Primary Years Programme) are central to the existence of a culture of justice. It explores research on justice and democracy in education in the context of the Vienna International School and asks which of the characteristics identified as being necessary for justice and democracy to be present exist in the school. The chapter contends that while the curriculum plays a strong part in providing a context in which justice and democracy can be nurtured, this by itself would be insufficient to guarantee the culture of justice that is present in the school and that it is the relationships that exists between all the stakeholders that are key to the existence of a culture of justice at the Vienna International School.