Justice in the Schoolhouse: Teacher Leaders at the Intersection of Justice, Responsibility, and Belief

• In Event: 16.040 - Teacher Leaders as Activists for Social Justice

Abstract

The pursuit of justice has concerned human beings for centuries, and despite the essential importance of this concern, it often remains outside the boundaries of our educational systems. Here we present a study of an action research seminar designed for a group of teacher leaders in a position to instigate positive change within their educational context. To interpret data generated by the teacher leaders we devised an analytical lens that draws from modern rabbinical scholarship, socio-political studies, and existentialism. We found that despite the teacher leaders recognizing injustice, their ability to act, formulate solutions, conduct action research, and even their very concept of justice was heavily influenced and constrained by the dominant political regime of the US educational system.

Authors

• Allan Feldman, University of South Florida

• Kory Bennett, University of South Florida