‘Sometimes unfair is fair’: New Zealand HPE teachers’ perceptions of social justice

Abstract

This paper draws on an analytical framework inspired by Nancy Fraser's (2010) three-dimensional theory of social justice to explore how HPE teachers in Aotearoa/New Zealand perceive the concept of social justice and teaching for and about social justice. Data were gathered from online semi-structured interviews with 19 HPE teachers. Analysis involved a six-step process of inductive thematic analysis [Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis. Qualitative Psychology, 9(1), 3]. The results show that participants perceive that social justice is a concept that is important, but it is complex and understood in different ways. A quest for equity, fairness, or inclusion were the most common understandings. The participants identifying how they take action for social justice through pedagogies for social justice that reflect a focus on representation of student voices, recognition of differences, and redistribution of the resources. The findings suggest that affirmative actions within long standing social structures are more prevalent than more transformative pedagogies that challenge underlying beliefs and values.