Education and justice: Learning to build just societies

• In Event: Education for Civic Engagement and Justice: Leadership, Identity, and Learning Across Contexts

Proposal

Living in peaceful and just societies, with strong and trusted institutions to safeguard human rights is a universal aspiration. Justice is central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in particular SDG 16.

Justice is a philosophical principle, which posits that the law and its representatives should treat people impartially, fairly, and reasonably. Justice is also a system, and reflects the biases and contestations of the societies in which it operates. The lack of justice further reinforces cycles of inequality, undermining people’s ability to participate fully in education, governance, and economic life (de Langen and Weston, 2023). In 2019, over 5 billion people are estimated to lack access to justice. 1.5 billion have a criminal, civil or administrative justice problem they cannot solve. 253 million live in extreme conditions of injustice, without meaningful legal protection (The Task Force on Justice, 2019).

Education has the potential to play a central role in helping achieve better access to justice for all, which can lead to trust, cohesion and peaceful societies. This paper builds on the interlinked aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals (UNESCO, 2016) to examine how education and justice outcomes, processes and systems are interlinked, issues which are rarely examined in depth together. In doing so, it makes novel contributions on framing, data, evidence and highlights research and policy implications that deeply resonate with the conference theme of “Re-examining Education and Peace in a Divided World.”

The following research questions guide the paper:

What is the evidence on the bidirectional links between education and justice: How does education impact justice outcomes? How does the functioning of justice systems affect education?



What roles does education – through formal, nonformal and informal means – play in improving access to and delivery of justice?



How do national policies focused on improving justice in society incorporate and engage with education systems and educational interventions?



What are the data, research and policy recommendations that derive from these insights on how to improve education and justice outcomes simultaneously?



The paper draws on consultations with expert institutional stakeholders in the education and the Sustainable Development Goals 16 Justice community, and subsequent extensive literature review, data and policy analysis. On the formal role of education, it analyzes curricular and extracurricular activities that focus on justice, including in civics education. Data from grassroots networks and surveys are utilized to assess existing understandings of legal needs and gaps, and how education matters in meeting these needs in formal, nonformal and informal education settings. At the higher education level, it analyzes how justice professionals – justices, lawyers, and additional professionals – are being trained and how gaps are being filled in the professionals ecosystem.

The analysis of the interlinkages between justice and education systems and outcomes are supported by Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) analysis, a comprehensive global dataset of policy documents on country reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals. Throughout the paper, based on research review and expert feedback, case studies are included that highlight efforts to deliver on people-centred justice. These will include programs that build justice through education, whether by training justice sector professionals, increasing access to legal education in schools and communities, or integrating civic and human rights education into curricula.



Building on the analysis, the paper concludes that education is uniquely positioned to respond to justice challenges. However, there is a long way to go to ensure justice within education systems, and in educating throughout life to foster just societies.

The paper documents how education helps shape values, civic awareness, and a sense of social responsibility through legal literacy, awareness of rights, and an understanding of how institutions work. Quality civic education and legal empowerment is essential for fostering civic participation and empowering individuals, helping to seek redress, challenge injustice, and advocate for institutional reform (Balarin and Milligan, 2024; Strand, 2022).

Operationally, since education systems prepares the professionals, judges, lawyers, police officers, corrections officials, and other professionals who interpret and apply the law, the paper highlights needs in legal education and grassroots legal knowledge building. A justice system cannot function without trained, ethical, and informed individuals who understand the social contract they serve. Legal education itself must be reformed to produce professionals who are not only technically competent, but socially responsive to real-world legal challenges (de Langen, 2023).

The paper also highlights how weak or discriminatory justice systems undermine the potential of education. When legal frameworks fail to guarantee protections such as legal identity, protection from discrimination, or school safety, entire populations are left without equitable access to learning. Rights-based education programs can empower learners to demand justice, report abuses, and build confidence in public institutions. Education can also act preventively, providing youth with alternatives to crime, and encouraging their belief that legal systems should work in their best interest.

To conclude, by connecting disciplines, and highlighting concrete data, evidence and policy examples, the paper offers new insights for advancing justice, critical to achieving peaceful, cohesive societies.





References

Balarin, M., and Milligan, L. O. (2024). Education as justice: Articulating the epistemic core of education to enable just futures. Global Social Challenges Journal, 3(1), 125–141.

de Langen, M. S. (2023). Delivering Justice and Fairness in People’s Lives, Looking Beyond the Usual Suspects to Understand the Knowledge and Skills Required to Solve People’s Justice Problems. Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4587998

de Langen, M. S., and Weston, M. (2023). Making Access to Justice for All a Reality. Appraising Progress on the Promise of SDG16. De Langen, Maaike and Weston, Mark, Making Access to Justice for All a Reality-Appraising Progress on the Promise of SDG16.(New York: Center on International Cooperation, 2023), Available at Http://Www. Sdg16. Plus.

Strand, T. (2022). What promotes justice in, for and through education today? Ethics and Education, 17(2), 141–148.

The Task Force on Justice. (2019). Justice for All: The Task Force on Justice. Center on International Cooperation. https://cic.nyu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/english_task_force_report_27jun19-min_compressed.pdf

UNESCO. (2016). Education for people and planet: Creating sustainable futures for all. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245752/PDF/245752eng.pdf.multi

Author

• Priyadarshani Joshi, UNESCO