Social Justice in Education: Navigating Socio Cultural Realities

Introduction

The topic of proper education does not pertain to only one aspect, it is imperative to denote that the subject of proper education is dependent on numerous social practices, cultural contingencies, structural frameworks and other sociocultural phenomena which affect the progress of education. When referring to successful, equal, and just education throughout the world, a popular concept in anthropology named Cultural Relativism comes to mind. Kopnina (2014) explains that cultural relativism refers to respecting the practices of varying cultures and societies, whilst understanding the linguistic, biological and historical practices which stem from every distinct culture (which there are thousands of). This acknowledgment of diverse cultural contexts is essential when discussing social justice in education, as it underscores the need for inclusive and equitable educational approaches that honor the multifaceted nature of societies.

Embracing Diversity in Education

Concepts such as cultural relativism are important when referring to education and international development because it allows education providers and policymakers to comprehend education is not uniform throughout the world, rather quite different in its practices and approaches depending on the local aspects. A human rights-based approach refers to the conceptualization of education as a right to all humans across the earth. From different reports of UNESCO, the importance of education, worldwide, has become a major goal because of its direct correlation to better health, less gendered norms, less frequent violent acts, decreased misogyny, and especially less poverty. The goal of education is founded on the principle that education furthers the development and inclusion of members in a society, through education, more individuals can actively participate and self-identify with it. The right to education is both moral and a legal right because it expands the human experience and allows for individuals to expand their knowledge, opening doors for improvement and better quality of life standards. Because education is lacking in many developing countries, it should be provided by the government, where power is often centralized and therefore rely on its actions.

Human Rights and Education

If the government provides education as the primary source, it would be easier to organize and distribute it throughout. Furthermore, education should always strive to be equal and inclusive so both men and women with different needs and skills have equal access to opportunities, meaning that education can be utilized by all members of society as an instrument to success under any circumstance. This approach, however, tends to be rhetorical due to the lack of normative directions and abstract in transformation and application. A human capital-based approach to education observes education as an investment whose revenue is observed through an increase in the working sector or population and its productivity. The capital-based approach prioritizes education in a sense that it expects those participating in it, will in return contribute in the actively working population; as education increases, so will the working percentage in any given country, consequently ameliorating the productivity and total GDP of that country. Furthermore, the value of providing affordable or financing towards education will create a certain cycle or reinforcement so future populations will not only attend school but obtain jobs, enjoy better health also improving the country’s GDP while lowering negative sociocultural contingencies.

Importance of Social Justice in Education

The critique here is that this approach gives a too narrow definition of education while most probable uses standardization on earlier years and then specialization given that this increase Returns on Equity and Return on Investment. Additionally, education is seen as a commodity and does not take in count particularities, rather aims to measure outcomes. The importance of education is rooted in social justice because of its fundamental role in the biological, cultural, linguistic and societal development of any individual. Education is crucial in its essence because it provides the tools for a successful and self-fulfilled life course. In order to participate actively in society, and go about social arrangements, work, personal development, qualities such as proper reading and writing are especially necessitated. Social justice in education is also heavily based on the equity of education throughout the population; for example, in developing countries women suffer greatly because of gendered norms, where women are expected to do domestic chores disproportionately, hindering their ability to receive an education, this is equity based. Moreover, Fraser (2008) claims “on the view of justice as participatory parity, overcoming injustice means dismantling institutionalized obstacles”, later she proposes that education would be correctly implemented once there is achieved economic redistribution, socio-cultural recognition and political representation. Although this approach is normative, it has its limitations due to the lack of understanding of differences and disadvantages within a society and who has the saying to determine what is fair.

Conclusion

Nonetheless, from what has been mentioned social justice is crucial when addressing education within a population because there is an overlap in sociocultural norms which negatively affects proportionate education in a society. 

Works Cited

1. Fraser, Nancy. (2008). Scales of Justice: Reimagining Political Space in a Globalizing World. Columbia University Press.
2. Kopnina, Helen. (2014). Anthropology of Environmental Education. Springer. Concepts of Cultural Relativism and Human Rights-Based Approach in Education