The Idea of Social Justice

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the relevance of different dimensions of social justice (i.e. distribution, recognition, and association) as the basis for assessing whether education and educational practices are as socially just. The chapter looks at the contribution of several political theorists, such as John Rawls and Immanuel Levinas, but in particularly draws on Iris Marion Young’s work to analyze the usefulness of the theory of justice in understanding socially just education processes and outcomes. Like Young’s work, the chapter aims to overcome the shortfalls and blind spots of the liberal-egalitarian position that equates social justice with the distributive dimension. It is argued that while distributive justice is an important aspect of a socially just education, there is a need for pluralizing the justice agenda in schools by including the recognitional and associational dimensions.