Social Justice Through Teaching Practices and Activities

Brian O’Sullivan, Reva Joshee & John MacDonald

OISE/UT

Conference Draft

Do not cite without permission of authors

Presented at the Annual Meeting of AERA

April 2005

Educators, students and all of society inhabit a world characterized by on-going global change in economics, technology, politics, culture, and ecology. It is a world characterized by significant advances in computer technology, international trade, the exchange of culture and knowledge, and increased global wealth. It has even created entirely new economies/technologies (such as the Internet or cell phones) which barely reached a mass audience ten years ago.

However, what has become apparent is that globalization has also created vast inequities of power, wealth, and substantial social injustices. Globalization has led to a less stable world order, characterized by currency shocks in Asia, Russia, Brazil and Mexico. Globalization has created a backlash in other nations (developed and less developed) that see globalization as a corrosive, exploitative force harming job security and wages. In developing nations, they view globalization as a cultural and political intrusion of Western values and mores, broadcast via the powerful Western commercial mass media. As Anthony Giddens, Director of the London School of Economics has said, sometimes globalization looks more like global “pillage“than a global “village“. Thus, after Seattle in 1999, large scale protests have characterized every global economic summit since.

If conflict has become the new norm as a result of globalization, consensus also is a casualty. In an attempt to address global environmental issues at Kyoto or to create an International Court of Justice, the evidence shows that it is very difficult to arrive at an international consensus on ratifying these treaties to create global solutions. The events of September 11, 2001, while horrific, were only part of a series of tensions accumulated due to globalization up to that point in time.  Sadly, these tensions, contradictions and social injustices caused by globalization continue to exist. 

The challenge for educators is to pursue an education for social justice --using effective teaching methodologies and educational activities—in order to promote knowledge, justice and a concern for our global common good

Education for social justice is an important field of teaching at both the pre-service and school level. It recognizes the need for teacher empowerment (Shor, 1992 ; hooks, 1994, Friere , 1998) and effective teaching methodologies for social justice (Ayers, 2005; Darling–Hammond , 2002 ; Allen, 1999; Ayers, Hunt, & Quinn, 1998). It embraces youth leadership and participation (Lewis, Espeland et.al. 1998; Kirshner & O’Donoghue, 2003; Kim, de Dios, 2002), it encourages youth to organize action projects (Kielburger & Keilburger, 2002) and it promotes citizenship and democracy initiatives for students and teachers (Portelli and Vibert, 2000; Isaac, 1992).

Within the context of Catholic education, social justice takes on some particular meanings. Social justice is seen as a natural extension of the teachings of the Church (e.g. Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, 2003; Parmisano, 1985). Justice is related to but not to be mistaken for charity, the former being associated with social change and the latter with service (Office for Social Justice, n.d.). Education for social justice, therefore is a moral and spiritual commitment for action against structural injustice.

The context of Ontario

Ontario, as home to about one third of all Canadians, is the most populous of the provinces. Canada’s largest city, Toronto is the capital of the province. In the 2001 census, it was reported that the total population of the Greater Toronto area was about 4.7 million (roughly half of the population of the province), 36% of whom were people of colour. Recent projections indicate that by 2017 people of colour will comprise 51% of the population of Toronto (Statistics Canada, 2005).

State policies promoting citizenship, diversity and social justice have existed in Canada since the 1940s (Joshee, 2004). Educators, activists, labour organizers, and government officials from Ontario have been at the forefront of diversity movements in Canada from the 1940s onwards (Joshee and Johnson, 2005). Until 1995, Ontario had some of the most progressive policies in Canada addressing diversity, equity, and social justice. When the Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris came to power in 1995, one of their first acts was to introduce the Job Quotas Repeal Act (1995), the stated purpose of which was “to repeal job quotas and to restore merit-based employment practices in Ontario” (Government of Ontario, 1995). This statute rescinded the provincial Employment Equity Act (1993), provisions of the Human Rights Act, Police Services Act and Education Act that related to employment equity, and forced all public agencies that had been collecting equity-related data on the social characteristics of their workforce to cease collecting and destroy existing data. Also in 1995, the Conservative government disbanded the Anti-Racism Secretariat of the Ministry of Citizenship and halted work on gender equity and education that had been on going between the Ontario Women’s Directorate and educators. Interestingly, Policy/Program Memorandum 119, which mandated the development and implementation of school board policies on antiracism and ethnocultural equity by September 1995, was not repealed, but it was also not enforced. In addition, the document specifying guidelines for the development of anti-racist policies (Ontario Ministry of Education, 1993) remained accessible on the Ministry of Education website. More recently, since the election of the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty in 2003, there has been a resurgence of “equity talk” in schools and teacher education programs.

OISE/UT

The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto is the faculty of the university that houses graduate programs in education along with pre-service and in-service teacher education programs. The pre-service program is a one-year after degree program leading to a BEd. Annually there are about 1400 students in the program, divided almost equally between the elementary and secondary programs. The secondary program is organized into several theme based cohort groups. The members of each cohort group take their three core courses – psychological foundations, school and society (a social foundations course), and the teacher education seminar – together. It is through these three courses, their practicum experiences, and their internship that the students are meant to explore and elaborate the theme of their cohort.

Program Overview: Social Justice in Catholic Education Cohort at OISE/UT

In the 2003/2004 academic year, we established a new pre-service cohort  entitled  Social Justice in Catholic Education designed for B.Ed. students intent on teaching in Catholic high schools who are interested in social justice issues, the work of major stakeholder groups in Ontario Catholic education, and the important national and global issues addressed by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. As part of this cohort  we established a  partnership relationship (via the SP9 cohort “Social Justice in Catholic Education”) in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with nine Catholic high schools in three regional Catholic school boards. We work closely with these nine high schools for our practicum placements and research.

Program Features : A Catholic Social Justice Perspective

Students in this program will take the following three foundation courses together as a group in the courses of TES (Teacher Education Seminar ; full year ),  Educational  Psychology (; half year   and School in Society (half year ).

Special emphasis is  given to the accomplishments of Catholic educational groups, Catholic curricula work for all subject areas, the social justice work of Catholic community groups , charitable and refugee organizations as well as the work of Catholic organizations in global overseas projects.  

The nine partner high schools were chosen for their accomplishments in social justice work. At the start of the year, the nine principals of these schools  present to the university class their schools’ work in the social justice realm. Mid-way throughout the year, their  teaching staff and high school student leaders present to our B.Ed . students. These high school students (and their staff advisors ) conduct social  justice projects serving the homeless, working in food banks ,  engaging in peace vigils, conducting letter writing campaigns to free political prisoners of conscience , and fund raising for  the poor in Central America, Haiti, and the Philippines.  These are but a few of the social justice projects from our partner Catholic high schools in the Greater Toronto Area

Another important feature of the program is a gathering of speakers from many Catholic organizations. These include the Institute for Catholic Education  (ICE), which is the provincial curricula agency for Catholic schools in Ontario and the Principal of St. Michael’s University who addresses our class about the role of Catholic universities in Ontario. Speakers are also include staff from Catholic Development and Peace ( a major organization for  overseas relief ), Romero House ( centre for refugees in Toronto) and the editor of the Catholic New Times  newspaper. As well , the social teachings of the Ontario and Canadian Catholic Bishops are an important resource that will be used throughout the course.

Other speakers are drawn from the staff of  St. Michael’s College University (a ten-minute walk east of OISE/UT). Although this is an OISE/UT cohort, St. Michael’s has generously provided us with free space to conduct the cohort. Their staff have been important contributors to our program , namely from the Canadian Catholic Centre for Bioethics and the Elliott Allen Centre for Ecology and Theology. 

Our program values experiential education and to that end, we conduct field trips at various times throughout the year to Catholic community groups such as the L’Arche Daybreak Vanier Institute for special needs adults, the Good Shepherd Refuge for Homeless Men, and the Mustard Seed Centre/ Residence for women on low or fixed incomes. 

Another important experiential feature of this program is that teacher candidates volunteer for three days to work on a social justice project. Students are free to choose the organization or agency they wish to support . This service work is also connected to two class projects in their Teacher Education Seminar, one a reflection and research portfolio entitled “Education & the Public Good “ and a second, a Discernment Log, consisting of a dozen articles about social justice teaching and how these readings enhance their pedagogy of social justice teaching. In their School and Society class the students are asked to do a creative reflection on their learning following the social justice project. Finally, students are invited to complete their OISE/UT internship in late April to the end of May with a social justice agency of their  choice in the Greater Toronto Area (e.g. development and peace agencies, trustees or teacher groups, curricula institutes, media publications, college/university offices etc.). These internship placements are arranged with the assistance of the course instructors.

Research Project : Education for Social Justice : Effective Teaching Practices and Activities

This research project is the logical evolution of the work we have been pursuing in the new SP9 cohort. As noted above, this cohort concentrates on teaching about social justice issues as well as learning from school projects and organizations involved in social justice work.

We have established an important network of schools, speakers and organizations in the field of social justice and this project builds on this relationship to:

a)     survey teacher candidates, teacher associates, high school students , principals, organizations and individuals working in the field of social justice to research effective teaching practices and activities in this field of study

b)     create a useful bibliography of resources in this area of study

c)       Produce a resource booklet (of 20-25 pages) these methodologies and literature for use by our partner schools, teacher candidates, partner organizations and the larger OISE/UT educational community.

It is our goal to now concentrate upon effective teaching methodologies for social justice teaching and to deepen the kinds of resources that can be available for all involved in this project.

It has been our experience that schools are already involved in extensive social justice projects such as work with the homeless, human rights, anti-racism education, youth empowerment, fundraising for overseas projects and community service project work. It is our goal to distill from their staff and students the kinds of exemplary practices that have been successful for them.

This project was useful for students in pre-service teaching, both as a research experience, but also because this project promotes critical thinking skills, knowledge of global and social justice issues, and seeks to define effective ways to make social justice a mainstay of teacher education and school education programs . These kinds of findings will reinforce the kinds of issues of equity, diversity and social justice that are core components in TES School and society and educational psychology. Furthermore, we see this as a benefit to the curriculum areas of pre-service teacher education, by demonstrating how social justice teaching can be used in the use of literature, social studies, and, in a word,  its universal application  in all subject areas.  

( Listed in Appendix A are the three survey instruments used to conduct the research program) .

Preliminary Report of the Research Findings

The study began in late 2004 and we are still receiving data from our teaching and community partners. We have received all of the responses from teacher candidates and there fore will concentrate our discussion on that data.

(B.Ed. Student Responses )

Defining  “social justice” work

The student teachers in the B.Ed. program had various definitions of what constituted social justice work.  They saw it as work designed to correct imbalances and disparities both locally and globally; as advocating for those who are not able to advocate for themselves; as work that involved the pursuit of justice very day;  and as work that is unselfish and tries to improve one’s community as a whole.  For others it involved long-term solutions i.e. changing structures, advocating change and raising awareness via teaching about the world.  For others, it was about taking action to insure that rights and dignities are protected to improve the common good. 

Social justice issues : The most pressing over the next five years

The student teachers in the B.Ed. program raised a number of pressing social justice issues of the next half decade.  Many were global in nature--such as the inequities of globalization, international sweatshop labour, privatization of water and seeds, the global sex tourism trade in developing nations, the AIDS/HIV epidemic in Africa, the growth of global and urban poverty in developing nations, as well as problems of the environment and the weaponization of space.  Others pointed out important local concerns such as the equitable treatment of at-risk students, problems of racism, the need to address homelessness and the impact of media on the lives of adolescents. 

One issue, event, or person  that/who  personally motivated you to become involved with social justice issues .

For students in the B.Ed program, there were a myriad of reasons that motivated them to become involved in social justice issues.  One cited their personal involvement seeing the Pope address the million or so youth on World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto.  Others pointed out the importance of friends or camp leaders who had been involved in social justice work as persons who prompted their interest in social justice activities.  Others had personal contact with more famous speakers such as the Kielberger brothers or Dr. Simone of the Canadian Food for Children Program, people whose public efforts and personal sacrifices moved them to embrace social justice teaching/work.  Another B.Ed student pointed out that 15 years ago, a cousin was unjustly imprisoned in a communist country for his religious beliefs and this marked the start of that student’s social justice journey. Yet another was moved by their early experience with children and adults with special education needs.  This B.Ed student saw the strain on families and the inadequate resources available and began to lobby to remove formal barriers and institutional limitations to support these people.  Finally, several other B.Ed. students were personally inspired by the lives of famous people such as Gandhi and Jackie Robinson who both struggled personally to improve the fate of other peoples. 

Social justice project involvement :

 i)        As an individual person

Students in the B.Ed program already had considerable personal experiences in social justice work prior to joining teachers’ college.  These included work with the Daily Bread Food Bank, the Canadian Cancer Society,  supporting overseas project work in Africa (Missionaries of the Precious Blood) , tutoring underprivileged children (Missionaries of Charity), Out of the Cold, Homeless Projects, work with social justice agencies, (Amnesty International ;Catholic Development and Peace, and rallies and door to door petitions to stop the closure of St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterloo.

ii)                  As a pre-service teacher

As part of the B.Ed cohort  program, students are involved with volunteering three days in a service project. Students have been involved in school breakfast clubs, volunteering at homeless shelters, working for a spaghetti fund raising dinner for Tanzania, work at the Scott Mission Food Bank, fundraising for VICS (Volunteer International Christian Service), leading STARS (Students and Teachers against Racism and Sexism), volunteering at the Canadian Food for Children Program (shipping canned goods in container boxes for overseas) and fundraising for the recent  Tsunami relief , and volunteering for the St. Vincent De Paul Society.   

Involvement in a social justice activity : It’s influence on your :

 i)                    values

The students in the B.Ed program said they felt a heightened feeling about their own personal values  in serving communities and getting involved in a social justice project.  It helped them realize what is important for them and how they live their life.  For another, they said involvement in a social justice activity made them a more just person as they became aware of the realities and injustices around them. Another said  and it made them re-think judgements they had made about the reasons why people are poor, sick hungry or unemployed.  Several other B.Ed. made a very direct connection that they felt it reaffirmed and renewed their values as a Christian and widened their appreciation of Gospel teaching and its applicability to social justice issues .

ii)                  knowledge about teaching social justice issues

The students in the B.Ed program had some very interesting insights about teaching social justice issues.  As one stated, “it has shown me that one cannot learn about social justice without getting their hands dirty”. For many of them, they saw the connection between knowledge of social justice issues and just as importantly, practical work to resolve the issue .  Several saw the importance of connecting course content to social justice issues for the sake of their students --to make their high school students  more aware of the world around them , as well as a way of making their course material very meaningful for the students.  One even stated that they understood why people failed to get involved in social justice issues because it required one to be able to raise awareness and make meaningful connections between injustice and the lives of students—no small feat. But as several pointed out, it is critical to teach these issues and share them with their students despite the sometimes “nihilistic outlook” by students about addressing various social justice issues. 

Kinds of support needed for successfully social justice work

Three major issues stood out among all the students in the B.Ed. program.  They pointed out the need for more time, resources and funding to insure successful social justice work/teaching.  Several connected the need for time to pursue further reading and research to promote their own consciousness-raising on issues. Others cited the need for funding to support professional development and organized agendas to sustain successful social justice work.  Others cited support of colleagues as necessary to pursue this work.  Finally one B.Ed student pointed out, the importance of community involvement on a social justice issue was very important  if one were to be successful in one’s teaching or projects in social justice . 

Catholic social justice teachings : Their influence on work in  social justice

Students in the B.Ed. program cited several specific Catholic sources as well as several concepts of Catholic social justice teaching that they felt guided their work.  The specific sources included Papal encyclicals on social justice, the Ontario Catholic Bishop’s statement “On Choosing a Government”  ; the work of Bishop Remy De Roo, (Teaching social justice in a  Canadian context), Howland Sanks, S.J. (Globalization and the Church’s social mission” and Kernahan (Fighting against Sweatshop Abuses). They also pointed out certain Catholic social justice concepts, namely the emphasis on action to address injustices,  the focus on the common good and importance of the dignity and worth of every person.

What kind of “spirituality”, higher purpose or sense of “vocation” do you derive from this social justice teaching or project work?

Many of the students in the B.Ed program made a connection between their faith and their future role as Catholic educators and social justice agents.  Others declared that, religion aside, everyone has a fundamental right to food housing clothing and equal rights and these must be protected vis social justice teaching and action.  Another, while identifying themselves as someone raised Catholic, did not draw a connection between faith and social justice.  This person saw it bluntly as his responsibility to help others in need , that it was his responsibility to be human -- rather than consciously connecting his faith and his social justice work. 

Most effective methodologies for teaching and learning about social justice issues in the :

i)                    Classroom Lessons/Activities

The students in this B.Ed. program are drawn from a variety of curriculum teaching areas.  Certain activities were identified which would be applicable to all teaching areas such as the use of multi- media, role playing activities to evoke empathy and concern about social justice in students, debates, personal reflection essays, and  documentaries. Certain subject specific activities emerged such as the use of art to investigate social justice issues, the use of mathematics statistics and word problems to demonstrate global inequities, and the use of social justice articles and documents in history and social science courses to complement the existing curricula.  Students in media classes were encouraged to create video documentaries on social justice issues. Other subject areas such as English supported the use of  petitions and letter writing to MPs and MPPs.  One B.Ed. student pointed out the very important role of teacher motivation to ensure successful classroom work in social justice.

ii)                  School Wide Projects/Activities

The students in the B.Ed. program pointed out the usefulness of having students organize, plan and present school assemblies on important social justice issues.  In two separate instances, and on two separate issues,  the assemblies were not only interactive and dynamic but became much more meaningful because the students ran the event themselves. 

The importance of guest speakers , either important individuals or social justice groups,  was seen as important  for school wide activities In addition B.Ed. students  noted more traditional events such as school wide food drives or fund drives for global disasters as important school projects/activities .

iii)                Board Level Projects/Activities

The students in the B.Ed program cited two board level projects as particularly noteworthy. These involved the Catholic Day of Service in the Toronto Catholic District School Board which involved dozens of day-long projects at volunteer sites across the city for students . The second major project cited was the “No Sweats” campaign being conducted in Catholic boards of education across Ontario. In  this campaign ,  student leaders and NGO’s want Catholic boards to refuse to purchase school uniforms or sportswear unless the uniform company can prove that these garments have not been made  in  a sweatshop.

 Significant challenges  encountered teaching social justice  issues

The students in the B.Ed program indicated that they found high school students were very interested in social justice issues. However, discussing issues such as poverty proved to be very sensitive . One student living in a poor district of the Toronto had a father who just lost his job and the family was in danger of being evicted from their apartment—so issues of poverty were uncomfortably close to home.  Others, teaching in suburban high schools, encountered ignorance and apathy about social justice issues because these high school students are not confronted with homelessness or poverty in their neighbourhood streets. . As one B.Ed student reported,  he was receiving comments such as “ Is this here in Mississauga, sir? Well if it is not in Mississauga then why should I care??” One B.Ed. student even observed they felt high school students did not want to admit the importance of compassion and helping others --that students embraced a “everyone for themselves” outlook in high schools today.  

The B.Ed students cited the extra demand placed on planning time as a significant challenge to teaching social justice issues. They pointed out that the creative effort necessary to connect social justice issues to curriculum expectations was very time consuming.  In fact one other B.Ed. student, a math teacher, decided to ease up on social justice teaching in grade 9 and 10 because the overloaded and demanding math curricula was not being understood by the students -- and the social justice material was simply confusing them further.  (However, this was not a major problem in grade 11 and 12 mathematics.)

Sometimes high school students are defeatist and seem to think certain social justice issues are a lost cause. As one B.Ed student pointed out,  it is important to make high school students realize they can make a difference as individuals.  

On a final note, one of the BEd students said a significant challenge is to get high school students involved outside the classroom because “ as soon as students see there are no marks attached, no course to take, the information seems to become dead “ .

Successes have you had in effective teaching in social justice issues

Students in the B.Ed program experienced the greatest sense of success when they saw that high school students became interested and active in social justice projects after these issues had been raised by them in the classroom. One B.Ed. student had high school students approach them to try to contact Jean Vanier about his work with special needs adults after a lesson . Others were interested in seeking summer employment in a L’Arche group home. Another B.Ed student indicated that after a social justice lesson in a World Issues class, students approached them about helping out children in war stricken countries.  Elsewhere, other high school students brought news articles to school on Afro Canadian issues after a class presentation on black immigration to Canada .Other B.Ed students reported success in their art classes and their history classes when these curricula were connected to supporting social justice awareness.

Several other B.Ed. students felt that their greatest success was in demonstrating their interest and their seriousness about teaching about social justice issues. They observed that their example inspired the high school students to take these matters seriously. As one B.Ed student said,  quoting Henry Adams, “A teacher effects eternity . He [or she] can never tell where his influence stops.”

Optimal conditions for teaching social justice issues

Students in the B.Ed program cited a number of optimal conditions necessary for successful social justice teaching.  These included  having a class of high school students characterized by ethnic,  linguistic,  and cultural diversity where students had many life experiences of social injustice. In turn, their life experiences and the discussions of these  made social justice issues very concrete and convincing for their fellow students. Other optimal conditions included effective use of the news media and other visual resources  as a means to make global social justice issues very real to students.  They also pointed out that a climate of openness, sincerity and an environment which was student centered was necessary for students to feel comfortable about expressing their opinions on social justice issues.

Likewise the B.Ed students felt that it was important to select certain social justice issues carefully, to discern which of these would be really important to the lives of high school students.  It was also felt that perhaps students in gr 9 and 10 needed more careful attention in presenting social justice issues.  As one of the B.Ed students pointed out, one of the gr 9 students “freaked out”  in a math class  saying “If I am going to learn history in this class,  I am going to walk out ”.

Finally, the B.Ed students felt that students and teachers needed to be motivated to study and act upon social justice issues . They felt it would be a “lost cause” if their fellow teachers ridiculed any efforts at teaching social justice, Moreover, they felt that a Catholic school, where the faith is present in a “real and true manner”,  was necessary to teach social justice issues effectively --rather than in a Catholic school that was faith-based in name only. 

Keeping  committed :  How do you  renew yourself in this kind of work ?

The students in the B. Ed.  program stated the importance of a community to stay committed to social justice work.  This included having staff colleagues as well as  involvement with social justice organizations outside of the school , to renew their desire to teach , learn , and act upon social justice issues. 

They cited the importance of experiential learning by getting out to see the social problems first hand such as homelessness and visiting food banks and shelters.

They felt it was important to take pleasures in the little victories . One B.Ed student , citing a particularly difficult at-risk student with behavioural difficulties had not responded to that B.Ed student’s hard work and the child was still failing and still had behaviour problems. However, when the B.Ed student finished the four week practicum session and received a card from this class, the same student wrote     “ Thanks for showing me respect and that is why I like you as a teacher.”As this B.Ed student commented, “it is the knowledge that I provided an opportunity… that has renewed me for the next challenge . It is the hope rather than the outcome that creates commitment. “

On a similar note, another B.Ed student acknowledged that change takes time and that awareness allows them to keep pushing. To keep pushing themselves  to protect the common good --despite not always seeing the change and the big picture of things immediately, that kept the student inspired.

These B.Ed students were also renewed and motivated by the importance of caring for others and the thought that their work would help those in the future. As  one B.Ed student said, by doing volunteer work for a relief  agency sending food overseas, and “helping save lives of underprivileged children in developing countries “, it  greatly motivated  that student teacher to  continue his social justice teaching. Another B.Ed student looking to the future said “there are so many things I want to be able to experience in my lifetime and so many things I still want for my students, my children and my grandchildren.” That B.Ed student personalized the contribution he wanted to make to  these persons and in turn he was inspired  to want to teach and create a better future for all.

Finally, students cited three other sources that renewed them in their work.  They were inspired by the good work of others around them , they were inspired by personal success in social justice teaching (success urged them to move forward),  and they were inspired by constantly pressing the issues , finding new material, discovering new connections, and ultimately feeling more inspired to push forward with their work in social justice. 

Tentative conclusions

One of the things that impresses us from this data is that there does appear to be a connection between the way our students approach social justice work and the way they understand their identity as Catholic teachers. Our experience with our students had led us to speculate on this connection. Unlike students in other social justice based cohorts in the OISE/UT program, our students have tended to be volunteers rather than activists; they have been involved with the community and Church-based social agencies. Rather than a political commitment they come to social justice work out of a moral and spiritual commitment. Through the Psychological Foundations component of the program, we use the work of James Fowler and Thomas Groome to explore this moral dimension of social justice teaching from a Catholic perspective. In the Teacher Education Seminar, the students are exposed to a variety of systemic approaches to analyzing economic and social injustice as they prepare their discernment journal and portfolio on the public good. In most respects the students have been much more attracted the peace education framework that we have been using in the School and Society course than they are to other systemic analyses. We believe that this is in part because of a positive emotional connection with the peace approach.

The students have a strong sense of their own agency and speak about the ways in which they hope to link their moral commitments to their work as teachers. Where we have found some challenges with this group in the past is in the need to insist on the importance of structures and systems in the perpetuation of social injustice and in the need to push them to think about the difference between social justice and charity. Based on the current data we are heartened to think that we have been somewhat successful in our goal to do address these issues but we recognize the need to place greater emphasis on education about systemic injustice..

Working with the Social Justice and Catholic Education cohort has given us a unique opportunity to think about the ways in which we can delve more deeply into certain issues because we understand the shared values of the group. This is not to say that the group is not diverse but that they are together in this cohort because of a shared commitment to Catholic values. We believe that as we proceed with this research and our teaching, we will have important information to share with teachers who find themselves teaching in homogeneous communities.

References

Adams, Maurianne ,  Bell, Lee Anne (Editor), Griffin, Pat  (eds. ) (1997) Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A Sourcebook for Teachers and Trainers
London : Routledge;

Adams, Maurianne, Blumenfeld, Warren J. , Castaneda, Rosie  , Hackman, Heather W.,  Peters, Madeline L. ,  Zuniga, Ximena (eds.) (2000). Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology on Racism, Sexism, Anti-Semitism, Heterosexism, Classism, and Ableism .London : RoutledgeFalmer;

Allen, Jobeth (ed.). (1999) Class Actions : Teaching for Social Justice in Elementary and Middle School (Practitioner Inquiry Series) NY : Teachers College Press

Andrezejewski, J.,(ed.) (1996) Oppression and Social Justice: Critical Frameworks.( 5^th ed). New York: Simon and Schuster

Ayers, William , Jean Ann Hunt , Therese Quinn (eds.) (1998) Teaching for Social Justice: A Democracy and Education Reader. NY :  New Press

Christensen, Linda (2000)Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching About Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word. Milwaukee :  Rethinking Schools Ltd;

Darling-Hammond, Linda ,  French, Jennifer ,  Paloma Garcia-Lopez Silvia (eds. ) (2002) Learning to Teach for Social Justice (Multicultural Education, 11). NY  : Teachers College Press

      Driskell, David (2002)Creating Better Cities With Children and Youth: Manual for  Participation. UK : Earthscan Publications

Freire, Paulo ; MacEdo, Donaldo  (Translator), (1998) Teachers As Cultural Workers: Letters to Those Who Dare Teach (Edge. Critical Studies in Educational Theory) . NY : HarperCollins.

Hooks, Bell (1994), Teaching to Transgress: Education As the Practice of Freedom London :  Routledge

      Isaac, Katherine (1992) Civics for Democracy: Journey for Teachers and Students.  N.H.  Essential Books

Kielburger , Marc & Craig (2002) Take Action! A Guide to Active Citizenship Toronto John Wiley & Sons;

Kim ,Jee. (Compiler),  de Dios, Mathilda (Compiler),  Caraballo, Pablo (Compiler), (2002)  Future 500: Youth Organizing and Activism in the United States
New Orleans : New Mouth from the Dirty South Publishers .

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Lewis, Barbara A.; Espeland, Pamela ;  Pernu, Caryn (1998) The Kid's Guide to Social Action: How to Solve the Social Problems You Choose-And Turn Creative Thinking into Positive Action .Minneapolis : Free Spirit Publishing

Shor, Ira.(1992) Empowering Education : Critical Teaching for Social Change. Chicago :University of Chicago Press

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Appendix A  ( Survey Questions )

Education for Social Justice :

Effective Teaching Practices and Activities

                     (B.Ed. Pre-service Teachers)

a)     Please give us your definition of what constitutes “social justice” work .

b)     What social justice issues do you believe are the most pressing over the next five years? Why ?

c)     Describe one issue, event, or person  that/who  personally motivated you to become involved with social justice issues .

d)     What social justice projects have you been involved with as :

i)        an individual person

             ii)    as a pre-service teacher  

e)     How did your involvement in a social justice activity influence your :

 iii)                values

iv)                knowledge about teaching social justice issues?

f) What kind of support do you need to carry on this social justice work successfully ? (e.g. funds, time , peer support , reading etc.

g) Which Catholic social justice teachings have influenced your teaching and project work in  social justice

h) What kind of “spirituality”, higher purpose or sense of “vocation” do you derive from this social justice teaching or project work?

i) What have you found to be the most effective methodologies for teaching and learning about social justice issues in the :

 iv)                Classroom Lessons/Activities

v)                  School Wide Projects/Activities

vi)                Board Level Projects/Activities

j) Describe significant challenges you encountered teaching social justice    issues.

k) What successes have you had in effective teaching in social justice issues ?

l) What do you believe are optimal conditions for teaching social justice issues ?

m) How do you keep committed to this work ? How do you  renew yourself in this kind of work ?

Survey of Quality Resources

We would invite you to share with us resources that you have utilized to enhance your teaching and projects in the field of social justice.

Websites:

E-learning Resources:

Journal articles:

Books:

Videos/Films /DVD’s:

Teacher Handbook

Social Justice Organizations

Education for Social Justice :

Effective Teaching Practices and Activities

a)     Please give us your definition of what constitutes “social justice” work .

b)     Which social justice issues do you believe are the most pressing over the next five years? Why? 

c)     Describe one issue, event, or person (without naming that person )that/who personally motivated you to become involved with social justice issues. 

d)     What social justice projects have you been involved with as :  

i)                    an individual person

ii)                  a teacher /administrator

e) How did your involvement in a social justice activity influence your : 

v)                  values

vi)                knowledge about teaching social justice issues?

f) What kind of support do you need to carry on this work successfully? (e.g. funds, time, peer support, reading etc.) 

g) What kind of “spirituality”, higher purpose or sense of “vocation” do you derive from this social justice teaching or project work?

h) Which Catholic social justice teachings have influenced your teaching and project work in social justice? 

i) What have you found to be the most effective methodologies for teaching and learning about social justice issues in the: 

vii)              Classroom Lessons/Activities  

viii)            School Wide Projects/Activities

ix)                Board Level Projects/Activities

j) How do you keep committed to this work? How do you  renew yourself in this kind of work?

Survey of Quality Resources

We would invite you to share with us resources that you have utilized to enhance your teaching and projects in the field of social justice.

Websites:

E-learning Resources:

Journal articles:

Books:

Videos/Films /DVD’s:

Teacher Handbooks

Social Justice Organizations

Education for Social Justice :

Effective Teaching Practices and Activities

                          (High School Student Leaders )

a) Please give us your definition of what constitutes “social justice” work . 

b) What social justice issues do you believe are the most pressing over the next five years? Why ?

c) Describe one issue, event, or person (without naming that person ) that/who  personally motivated you to become involved with social justice issues .

d) What social justice projects have you been involved with as :  

i)      an individual person

ii)                  a student leader  

e) Which of your school courses promote social justice issues ? Please give two examples .

f) What new projects do you see possible in your school (or board of education ) as a student leader in social justice work ?

g) What kind of support do you need to carry on your present (and future work) in social justice leadership? (e.g. funds, time , peer support , reading etc. )

h) Which Catholic social justice teachings have influenced your work in  social justice ?

i) What kind of “spirituality”, higher purpose or sense of “vocation” do you derive from this social justice teaching or project work?

j) What have you found to be the most effective methodologies for learning about social justice issues in  : 

x)                  Classroom Lessons/Activities

xi)                School Wide Projects/Activities  

xii)              Board Level Projects/Activities

 k) How do you keep committed to this work ? How do you  renew yourself  in this kind of work ?

Survey of Quality Resources

We would invite you to share with us resources that you have utilized to enhance your teaching and projects in the field of social justice.

Websites:

E-learning Resources:

Journal articles:

Books:

Videos/Films /DVD’s:

Teacher Handbooks

Social Justice Organizations