Social justice is concerned with issues of equality and justice for the weaker and disadvantaged. It deals with issues surrounding socioeconomic status and legal issues affecting wronged individuals. Legal justice focuses on ensuring that wrongdoers are compensated for their wrongdoings. Civil and criminal courts deal with facts and arguments, but social justice deals with socioeconomic status.
Insufficient educational content
Insufficient educational content on social justice issues is an issue that has long plagued education. While there is no single right or wrong answer for this problem, there are several ways to incorporate social justice topics in the curriculum. One effective way is to use biology. Evolutionary biology, a discipline that studies the origin and significance of biological diversity, is an ideal context for social justice topics.
The Teaching Tolerance Program and the Southern Poverty Law Center have published social justice standards that educators should consider when developing curriculum. These standards require students to use data to make conclusions, which aligns with the NGSS and the College Board’s AP biology curriculum. These standards also emphasize the role of science in society and how it can be used to fight oppression.
Limited competency of nursing educators
The limited competency of nursing educators in social justice issues is an important issue that needs to be addressed in nursing education. As role models for future nurses, nursing educators play a pivotal role in shaping the competency and values of their future workers. However, a recent study found that nursing educators have not received adequate social justice education. The authors attributed this to several factors, including inadequate educational content and inadequate educational approaches.
The limited competency of nursing educators in social justice issues has been acknowledged as a significant obstacle to the development of caring, compassionate nurses. However, nurse educators can develop students’ social justice competencies by actively addressing their biases and implementing strategies that integrate real clinical cases. These strategies can improve students’ knowledge and skills regarding social justice and impartial care for vulnerable populations.
Inappropriate education approaches
Inappropriate education approaches to social justice issues are often rooted in systemic oppression. One of the ways that educators can combat this is by embedding social justice into the curriculum. This is especially effective for students in high school. In the course of their education, students learn about the natural world and the inequities that exist within it.
One way to make social justice an integral part of the curriculum is to tie it to the science curriculum. Evolution, for example, is a subject that students love to discuss, and it is a great way to address issues of racism, poverty, and gender.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues
There are many organizations working to improve conditions for LGBT people. A good place to start is the ACLU’s LGBT & AIDS Project. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, gender identity, and transgender identity. Lambda Legal is another organization that works to ensure full civil rights for LGBT people living with HIV.
Many LGBT individuals are denied the right to form a family because of their sexual orientation. Because of this, they often face discrimination in employment. Governments also often deny the right to adopt children. The law may also limit their rights to education.