Academic literature on the topic 'Curricular justice'

A justiça curricular, com suas três dimensões - conhecimento, convivência e cuidado -, define que o currículo atenda a todas as necessidades dos envolvidos e os forme como pessoas solidárias e corresponsáveis na construção de uma sociedade mais justa. Assim sendo, o objetivo deste artigo, recorte de uma pesquisa de doutorado, foi identificar, na realidade das escolas do campo do município de Humaitá, Amazonas, os limites e as possibilidades no atendimento às crianças da região, tendo como parâmetro a dimensão do cuidado na busca da justiça curricular. A pesquisa participativa, utilizando-se de pesquisa de campo, análise documental, entrevistas, momentos de reflexão-ação e de escuta sensível (Barbier, 2007), com gestores, professores, merendeiras, pais e alunos, em sua fase exploratória, resultou no levantamento das dificuldades encontradas pelos participantes quanto ao atendimento da Educação do Campo: calendário escolar, transporte e merenda escolar. Os resultados apontam para a grande distância entre o que está escrito e a prática curricular, levando à injustiça curricular. Faz-se necessário, assim, refletir sobre a concepção da justiça curricular, em especial a dimensão do cuidado, pois um ambiente democrático e acolhedor das diferenças ajuda a garantir e a consolidar a formação solidária e modificar o processo de construção do conhecimento. Palavras-chave: Justiça Curricular, Cuidado, Escolas do Campo. Reflections on the dimension of care in the search for curricular justice in the field schools of the municipality of Humaitá (AM) ABSTRACT. Curricular justice, with its three dimensions - knowledge, coexistence and care -, defines that the curriculum meets all the needs of those involved and educates them as supportive and co-responsible people in the construction of a more just society. Therefore, the objective of this paper, a cutoff of a doctoral research, was to identify, in the reality of the field schools of the municipality of Humaitá, Amazonas, the limits and the possibilities in the care of the children of the region, having as parameter the dimension of care in the pursuit of curricular justice. Participatory research, using field research, documentary analysis, interviews, moments of reflection-action and sensitive listening (Barbier, 2007), with managers, teachers, school cooks, parents and students, in their exploratory phase, resulted in the survey of the difficulties encountered by the participants regarding the attendance of Rural Education: school calendar, transportation and school meals. The results point to the great distance between what is written and the curricular practice, leading to curricular injustice. It is therefore necessary to reflect on the conception of curricular justice, especially the dimension of care, since a democratic and welcoming environment of differences helps to guarantee and consolidate solidarity education and modify the process of knowledge construction. Keywords: Curricular Justice, Care, Rural Schools. Reflexiones sobre la dimensión del cuidado en la búsqueda de la justicia curricular de las escuelas unitarias del municipio de Humaitá (Amazonas, Brasil) RESUMEN. La justicia curricular, con sus tres dimensiones - conocimiento, convivencia y cuidado -, define que el currículo atienda a todas las necesidades de los involucrados y los forme como personas solidarias y corresponsables en la construcción de una sociedad más equitativa. El objetivo de este artículo, el cual es un recorte de una investigación llevada durante el doctorado, fue identificar, en la realidad de las escuelas unitarias del municipio de Humaitá, Amazonas, los límites y las posibilidades en la atención a los niños de la región, teniendo como parámetro la dimensión del cuidado en la búsqueda de la igualdad curricular. En este estudio se utilizó una metodología investigación participativa, llevada a cabo mediante el trabajo de campo, el análisis documental, las entrevistas, los momentos de reflexión-acción y de la escucha sensible (Barbier, 2007), con gestores, profesores, monitores del comedor escolar, padres y alumnos, en su fase exploratoria, resultó en el levantamiento de las dificultades encontradas por los participantes en cuanto a la atención de la Educación del Campo: calendario escolar, transporte y merienda escolar. Los resultados apuntan a la gran distancia entre lo que está escrito y la práctica curricular, obteniendo como resultado lo que se denomina como injusticia curricular. Este hecho, hace que sea necesario reflexionar sobre la concepción de dicha justicia curricular, en especial la dimensión del cuidado, debido a que un ambiente democrático y acogedor de las diferencias ayuda a garantizar y consolidar la formación solidaria y modificar el proceso de construcción del proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje. Palabras clave: Justicia Curricular, Cuidado, Escuelas Rurales.

Purpose:To examine the extent to which rehabilitation counselor educators understand and are committed to infusing social justice in the rehabilitation counseling curricula.Method:The authors used a quantitative descriptive research design to examine the level and extent of integrating social justice into rehabilitation counseling curricular. The participants were 59 rehabilitation counselor educators recruited during the eighth Annual Rehabilitation Educators Conference hosted by the National Council on Rehabilitation Education.Results:The study found that most participants perceived it important to integrate social justice into rehabilitation counseling curricula. The level and extent of integration varied by academic rank and years of teaching.Conclusion:To ensure future rehabilitation counselors gain social justice competency, it is of great significance that rehabilitation counseling educators infuse the concepts of social justice into the curricula through knowledge and fieldwork domains.

Controversies in current events highlight the important role that public space and monuments may play in demonstrating community values or conversely projecting status quo articulations of inequity. With this in mind, we felt compelled to develop curricula to unpack the complex relationships between public space and place identity through the shared ownership and development of public monuments. We started a curricular project called Spacemakers to engage learners in arts-based reflections on public space, identity and social justice through the generation of proposed monuments as matters of concern. Through frameworks of history and memory, design practice and cultural geography, we articulate the unfolding of the curriculum as we consider the monument as a curricular object. This article reviews the curricular activities we developed for the Spacemakers project, their theoretical and pedagogical foundations, and the potential for making use of speculative design and critical making as powerful vehicles for reflection on public space and embodied learning.

A plethora of debates about intellectual imagination regarding decolonised curriculum development has dominated the South African higher education discourses. There is a need to purge Africa of the marginalisation that has been perpetuated by curricula established during the past century. The aim of this research was to add a practical dimension to this discourse, by altering traditional curriculum activities in a biology module, in order to address the issue of food insecurity among university students. In this qualitative inquiry, the following questions were asked: “How can pre-service teachers engage with decolonised curricular activities, in order to address food insecurity among students?” and “What are the consequences of pre-service teachers’ engagement with decolonised curricular activities which respond to food insecurity?” Thirty-six pre-service biology teachers and 12 non-biology university students were purposively selected to participate in a food gardening activity. Data were generated using individual interviews, focus group interviews and the development of portfolios. Findings revealed that pre-service teachers’ consciousness of the social reality of food insecure students was raised, and their feelings of empowerment to enable others, and themselves, to become self-reliant, were enhanced through decolonised curricular activities. This is significant because it signalled a freeing of pre-service teachers from material and intellectual shackles which is critical to decolonised thought and action. This research has implications for higher education science teacher education modules, which can incorporate science from Western and indigenous sources, to create transformed curricula which are socially responsive and reflect epistemic justice. Keywords: decolonised curriculum, food gardening, indigenous knowledge, qualitative methodology, self-reliance, transformation.

This article explores definitions and integration of social justice in graduate training in counseling and psychology. We examine both the professional literature and our own process in pushing past curricular and administrative boundaries by establishing an extra- or co-curricular component to graduate training that supports the further infusion of social justice principles in graduate training. We conclude with a call for further dialogue and action.

Despite institutional claims that social justice is a core professional nursing value, efforts to fulfill this claim remain uneven. The purpose of this study was to examine the circumstances that shape nursing educators' approaches to social justice. In-depth semi-structured interviews with 28 educators teaching theory courses in baccalaureate nursing programs shed light upon the influences that shape how educators integrate social justice. These include formative experiences, institutional factors, and curricular opportunities. Formative experiences include upbringing, educational background, and preparation to teach. Institutional factors consist of the type of institution, geographic location, and the specter of retention, promotion, and tenure. Finally, curricular opportunities and fit include the positioning of Community Health Nursing, fragmentation and tension between “content and context,” and the “driving force” of the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX). Findings indicate that the capacity to uphold the value of social justice is shaped by experiences across the lifespan, institutional policies, and practices related to faculty hiring, development, career advancement, as well as curricular vision. This study calls for a concerted effort to enact social justice nursing education.

This article explores ways of building the topics of press freedom and open justice into the teritary journalism curriculum. It uses reflective practice techniques in developing a series of two by three hour workshop modules centred around introducing students to the priniciples of press freedom and open justice, exploring cases where these issues have ben tested in the courts, and building students skills in defending press freedom and open justice in the newsroom and the courtroom. It uses poblem-based and experiential pedagogies to bring historical and philosophical principles to life and make them relevant to students' experiences and current newsroom practices. Finally, it invites comments and discussions on other curricular and pedagogical apporaches to teaching these topics.

Curriculum integration, or in other words, changing what students are taught within racially desegregated Canadian schools, has served as a primary but incomplete pathway to racial justice. In this paper, I present evidence from a qualitative critical race theory (CRT) methodological study with 13 Métis teachers to demonstrate how curricular integration has been framed as a key solution to inequitable outcomes concerning Indigenous students. This strategy has been instilled within the Saskatchewan K–12 education system by a wide spectrum of authorities over several decades. Although absolutely essential for multiple reasons, I argue that teaching students about Indigenous knowledge systems and experiences, as well as anti-racist content, cannot resolve the systemic racial injustices encountered by Indigenous students who attend provincial schools. In particular, three CRT analytical tools—structural determinism, anti-essentialism, and interest convergence—are utilized to examine the limitations of curricular integration as a strategy of racial justice. Keywords: Métis teachers; Indigenous education; critical race theory; integrated schools

This article presents a study that aimed to understand the contributions of self-evaluation (SE) processes towards the development of curricular and social justice and educational improvement. The study focuses on data collected from the schools’ external evaluation (SEE) process and from the TEIP programme (Educational Territories of Priority Intervention) implemented in Portugal, namely, 144 SEE reports from 2012/2013 and 3 interviews to the responsible people for the educational project from a TEIP school. The collected data were analysed by content analysis using NVivo software, showing that the external evaluation of education systems can be one of the pillars in achieving justice when it causes a pedagogical intervention which reaffirms the links between curriculum, teaching and students’ learning. It also shows that SEE processes can have empowering potential when social justice and equity principles are present throughout its development and with the support of critical friends.

This thesis aims to contribute to the optimising of the educational engagement of low socio-economic and other historically underrepresented populations in undergraduate, web-based distance learning in higher education. It establishes, through theoretical and philosophical argument, the value of a participative justice approach to equity, a social constructionist epistemological framework for curricular praxis, and a relational conceptualisation of networked computing. The project to re-map the terrains of equity, curricular practice, and web-based distance learning in higher education emerges out of a realisation that current maps are restrictive, epistemologically flawed, and theoretically deficient, thereby inhibiting the educational engagement of disadvantaged students and obstructing systemically equitable outcomes. Without a new curricular map web-based distance learning is likely to maintain, if not exacerbate, distance education�s historic record as having the highest levels of inequitable outcomes in higher education. In response, the thesis, taking a critical social constructionist stance, problematises current equity, curricular practice, and networked computing discourses in relation to culture, power, and politics. As a critical postmodernist counter-narrative, the thesis proposes paradigm shifts from an access to a participative approach to equity, from an individual to a social learning model for curricular practice in distance education, and from a technocratic to a relational conceptualisation of networked computing. Web-based distance education is positioned as a site of contestation where the need for equity is greatest and the implementation of a new model of curricular practice is most likely to succeed since web-based distance learning is still a newly emerging mode of study in which academics are themselves newcomers in search of effective curricular practices. This leads to the development of �Critical Interdependent Acculturation� as a �next generation� social constructionist curricular practice for web-based distance learning. Having established the capacity of networked computing to sustain such a curricular practice, this thesis offers academics a new conceptual architecture, �Imaginative Designs for Equitable Achievement of Learning� (IDEAL) to optimise the educational engagement of all students in web-based distance learning in higher education, but especially for those least advantaged. Accordingly, the thesis invites academics to re-evaluate their approach to equity, their epistemic assumptions and to transform rather than transfer old paradigm curricular practices in networked distance learning. The remapping of equity in web-based curricular practices undertaken in this thesis represents a significant contribution to knowledge. The study, by taking a critical postmodernist approach to class, power and social relations, addresses significant research gaps in its theoretical analysis of disadvantaged students in distance education, especially its web-based mode, in which these students are most at risk of educational disengagement. The study targets the operation of social power at the micro-level of curricular practices in higher education and shifts the web-based learning debate from technological access to equitable engagement in its social practices. The reconfiguration of curricular practices to transform the operation of power in mainstream programs positions this study as a groundbreaking project, and by arguing for a systemic curricular response geared towards equitable educational engagement, it affirms that curricular focused research is a significant factor in achieving equity in web-based higher education, rather than being peripheral to it.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2017-04-18T18:06:08Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniel Bocchini.pdf: 1935923 bytes, checksum: 8d6f1af2923bda3b335ad09036ca8044 (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-18T18:06:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniel Bocchini.pdf: 1935923 bytes, checksum: 8d6f1af2923bda3b335ad09036ca8044 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-22
The cultural multiplicity and, consequently, the encounter as the other are marks of the contemporary society. In this way, social environments are characterized by the encounter and the dispute of certain meanings. Seeking to understand this scenario becomes fundamental for building fairer and more democratic social spaces, since the subaltern condition with which certain social groups are treated in the various sectors, including education, is remarkable. Analyzing this marginalization, the issue of Afrodescendants acquires relevance due to its historical struggle for recognition in society and also in the educational system. In order to reverse this situation, some affirmative actions were adopted to reduce racial inequality (quotas policy, exemption from the entrance fee, entrance fees, etc.). Also, in the last years, universities have been instituted in Brazil that are being denominated of alternatives or popular, in that they present differences with respect to the so-called traditional or classic universities. With this in mind, in 2010, the University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB) was created, located in the municipality of Redenção, in the state of Ceará. Considering these questions, the present research aimed to reveal how the inclusion of Afro-descendant students in UNILAB is operationalized, considering the curricular construction and perception of the students themselves. Through the use of interviews and questionnaires with the pro-rectors, coordinators, professors and students, we can consider that UNILAB is still a long way from considering a university that includes this population. Due to its recent birth, we consider of great importance the development of new research that contributes to the maturation of this institution.
La multiplicidad cultural y, en consecuencia, el terreno de juego como los otros son marcas registradas de la sociedad contemporánea. Por lo tanto, los entornos sociales se caracterizan por la reunión y la disputa determinados significados. Trate de entender este escenario se convierte en esencial para construir más justa y democrática espacios sociales, ya que es notable la condición subalterna que ciertos grupos sociales se tratan en diversos sectores, como la educación. El análisis de esta marginación, la cuestión de ascendencia africana se convierte en relevante debido a su lucha histórica por el reconocimiento en la sociedad y el sistema educativo. Para revertir esta situación, se tomaron algunas medidas positivas para reducir esta desigualdad racial (política de cuotas, la exención en la cuota de inscripción en la entrada, etc. abarrotar popular). Además, en los últimos años se han establecido en las universidades de Brasil de ser llamado alternativa o popular medida en que difieren en cuanto a las universidades tradicionales o clásicos dicho. Con ese fin, en 2010, se creó la Universidad de Integración Internacional africanos de habla portuguesa-brasileña (UNILAB), ubicada en el municipio de la redención, en el estado de Ceará. Teniendo en cuenta estas cuestiones, el presente estudio tuvo por objetivo conocer cómo poner en práctica la inclusión de los estudiantes afrodescendientes en UNILAB teniendo en cuenta el desarrollo curricular y la percepción de los propios estudiantes. Mediante el uso de entrevistas y cuestionarios a los pro-rectores, ingenieros, profesores y estudiantes podemos considerar que UNILAB aún está lejos de considerar una universidad que incluye esta población. Dependiendo de su nacimiento reciente, consideramos muy importante el desarrollo de una nueva investigación que contribuye a la maduración de esta institución.
A multiplicidade cultural e, consequentemente, o encontro com o outro são marcas da sociedade contemporânea. Dessa maneira, os ambientes sociais caracterizam-se pelo encontro e pela disputa de certos significados. Procurar compreender esse cenário torna-se fundamental para construirmos espaços sociais mais justos e democráticos, visto que é notável a condição de subalternidade com que determinados grupos sociais são tratados nos diversos setores, inclusive na educação. Analisando essa marginalização, a questão dos afrodescendentes adquire relevância devido à sua histórica luta por reconhecimento na sociedade e também no sistema educacional. Para reverter esse quadro, algumas ações afirmativas foram adotadas a fim de diminuir a desigualdade racial (política de cotas, isenção na taxa de inscrição nos vestibulares, cursinhos populares etc.). Também, nos últimos anos foram instituídas no Brasil universidades que estão sendo denominadas de populares, na medida em que apresentam diferenças relativamente às universidades ditas tradicionais ou clássicas. Com esse intuito, no ano de 2010, foi criada a Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB), localizada no município de Redenção, no estado do Ceará. Considerando essas questões, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo desvelar de que modo se operacionaliza a inclusão dos estudantes afrodescendentes na UNILAB, considerando a construção curricular e a percepção dos próprios estudantes. Por meio da utilização de entrevistas e questionários com pró-reitores, coordenadores, professores e estudantes podemos considerar que a UNILAB ainda está muito aquém de considerarmos uma universidade que inclui essa população. Em função do seu recente nascimento, consideramos de suma importância o desenvolvimento de novas pesquisas que contribuam para amadurecimento dessa instituição.

El concepte de justícia social és tan antic com els éssers humans. Durant el segle XX teòrics com Rawls, Sen, Nussbaum, Frazer i Young han intentat assentar les bases del que ha de ser una societat justa des de diferents perspectives: la redistribució, el reconeixement i la participació. Treballar en favor de la justícia social és una de les finalitats de l’ensenyament-aprenentatge de les ciències social, la geografia i la història, per al desenvolupament de la consciència ciutadana i del pensament crític i, té com a objectiu ajudar els joves a esdevenir ciutadans actius i compromesos en la societat. La recerca que presentem és una proposta innovadora per treballar la justícia social a l’aula de secundària i una reflexió sobre la pròpia pràctica. Utilitzant com a fil conductor els Objectius de Desenvolupament del Mil·lenni i les temàtiques controvertides que aquests proposen, el treball parteix de la indagació sobre les representacions socials dels alumnes en relació a situacions d’injustícia social: la pobresa i la immigració. Analitza com els nois i noies les interpreten, d’on procedeixen les seves representacions, i quines propostes són capaços d’articular per solucionar-les. A partir de la pròpia experiència personal i aliena, intentem esbrinar com els joves valoren el fenomen migratori i si aquest és considerat una injustícia social. L’estudi d’alguns aspectes relacionats amb la llei ens permet entendre com els joves es posicionen envers aquesta. Acabem l’estudi amb l’anàlisi de les representacions socials un curs després d’haver acabat el treball a l’aula, per veure com aquestes s’han transformat. Es tracta, doncs, d’una recerca situada dintre del camp de la investigació educativa, emmarcada dins l’àmbit de la Didàctica de les Ciències socials, que té com a protagonistes 89 alumnes i una professora. Per a l’anàlisi de les dades s’ha utilitzat, fonamentalment, una metodologia qualitativa. Els instruments que s’han utilitzat per a la recollida de dades han estat: el qüestionari, el relat de vida, activitats d’aula i entrevistes en focus grup. Les dades recollides i analitzades ens indiquen que els joves identifiquen la pobresa i la immigració com a situacions d’injustícia social, els canals d’informació que utilitzen per conèixer-les són, fonamentalment, els mass media; que els joves empatitzen més amb les persones pobres que amb els migrants; i que mostren una gran desconfiança envers la classe política i, com a conseqüència, també envers el sistema democràtic de l’Estat espanyol, quan opinen sobre la pobresa i la immigració. Els processos migratoris portats a terme per les pròpies famílies no són considerats com una injustícia social, sinó com una oportunitat de millora econòmica i social. En relació amb la llei, les seves respostes evidencien el debat entre l’aspecte ètic i el legal. Alguns consideren que la llei d’estrangeria és una llei injusta, perquè no respecta els drets fonamentals de les persones. Majoritàriament, els joves consideren que Catalunya és un país acollidor on podran portar a terme el seu projecte de vida. En les representacions inicials, el concepte de justícia social és associat amb el respecte dels drets bàsics de les persones i amb la necessitat d’una redistribució més igualitària de la riquesa. En les representacions finals, incorpora els principis d’igualtat, de llibertat i de solidaritat. En referir-se a la igualtat, adopta les tres dimensions de la justícia social: com a redistribució, com a reconeixement i com a participació. La pràctica reflexiva ajuda el professor a trobar el fil conductor que dota de sentit l’ensenyament de les ciències socials i el fa adonar-se que els continguts a estudiar han d’estar contextualitzats perquè siguin significatius.
El concepto de justicia social es tan antiguo como los seres humanos. Durante el siglo XX teóricos como Rawls, Sen, Nussbaum, Frazer y Young han intentado sentar las bases de lo que debe ser una sociedad justa desde diferentes perspectivas: la redistribución, el reconocimiento y la participación. Trabajar en favor de la justicia social es una de las finalidades de la enseñanza –aprendizaje de las ciencias sociales, la geografía y la historia, para el desarrollo de la conciencia ciudadana y del pensamiento crítico y, tiene como objetivo ayudar a los jóvenes a convertirse en ciudadanos activos y comprometidos en la sociedad. La investigación que presentamos es una propuesta innovadora para trabajar la justicia social en el aula de secundaria y una reflexión sobre la propia práctica. Utilizando como hilo conductor los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio y las temáticas controvertidas que estos proponen, el trabajo parte de la indagación sobre las representaciones sociales de los alumnos en relación a situaciones de injusticia social: la pobreza y la inmigración. Analiza como los chicos y chicas las interpretan, de dónde proceden sus representaciones, y qué propuestas son capaces de articular para solucionarlas. A partir de la propia experiencia personal y ajena, intentamos averiguar cómo los jóvenes valoran el fenómeno migratorio y si éste es considerado una injusticia social. El estudio de algunos aspectos relacionados con la ley nos permite entender cómo los jóvenes se posicionan en relación a esta. Acabamos el estudio con el análisis de las representaciones sociales un curso después de haber terminado el trabajo en el aula, para ver cómo estas se han transformado. Se trata, pues, de una investigación situada dentro del campo educativo, enmarcada dentro del ámbito de la Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales, que tiene como protagonistas 89 alumnos y una profesora. Para el análisis de los datos se ha utilizado, fundamentalmente, una metodología cualitativa. Los instrumentos que se han hecho servir para la recogida de datos han sido: el cuestionario, el relato de vida, actividades de aula y entrevistas en grupo. Los datos recogidos y analizados nos indican que los jóvenes identifican la pobreza y la inmigración como situaciones de injusticia social, los canales de información que utilizan para conocerlas son, fundamentalmente, los mass media; que los jóvenes empatizan más con las personas pobres que con los migrantes; y que muestran una gran desconfianza hacia la clase política y, como consecuencia, también hacia el sistema democrático del Estado español, cuando opinan sobre la pobreza y la inmigración. Los procesos migratorios llevados a cabo por las propias familias no son considerados como una injusticia social, sino como una oportunidad de mejora. En relación con la ley, sus respuestas evidencian el debate entre el aspecto ético y el legal. Algunos consideran que la ley de extranjería es una ley injusta, porque no respeta los derechos fundamentales de las personas. La mayoría de los jóvenes consideran que Cataluña es un país acogedor donde podrán llevar a cabo su proyecto de vida. En las representaciones iniciales, el concepto de justicia social es asociado con el respeto de los derechos básicos de las personas y con la necesidad de una redistribución más igualitaria de la riqueza. En las representaciones finales, incorpora los principios de igualdad, de libertad y de solidaridad. Al referirse a la igualdad, adopta las tres dimensiones de la justicia social: como redistribución, como reconocimiento y como participación. La práctica reflexiva ayuda al profesor a encontrar el hilo conductor que dota de sentido la enseñanza de las ciencias sociales y lo hace darse cuenta de que los contenidos a estudiar deben estar contextualizados para que sean significativos.
The concept of social justice is as old as human beings. In the 20th century, theorists like Rawls, Sen, Nussbaum, Frazer and Young have tried to lay the foundations of what should be a fair society from different points of view: redistribution, recognition and participation. Working in favor of social justice is one of the goals of teaching-learning of social sciences, geography and history, for the development of public awareness and critical thinking, and its main purpose is helping young people to become active citizens as well as committed to society. The research work we are presenting is an innovative approach to social justice work in the secondary school classroom and a reflection about our own practice. Using Millennium Development Goals and its controversial topics as a unifying thread, our project starts from the research on the social representations of students in relation to social injustice: poverty and immigration. It examines how boys and girls interpret them, where their representations come from and which proposals are able to articulate in order to solve them. Starting from their own personal experience and others, we try to find out how young people assess the migratory phenomenon and whether it is considered a social injustice. The study of some aspects related to law, allows us to understand how young people position themselves about it. We finish the study analyzing the social representations a year after finishing the classroom work, in order to see how these representations have changed. It is, therefore, a research placed within the field of educational investigation, framed in the sphere of Social Science Education, which has as main characters, 89 students and a teacher, during the period in which it took place. For the data analysis, a qualitative methodology has been used. The tools for data collection have been: questionnaires, life story, classroom activities and focus group interviews. The collected and analyzed data show that young people identify poverty and immigration as social injustice situations, and the information channels that they use to know them are basically the mass media; that young people empathize more with people who experience poverty than with those who are immigrants; and that they express great distrust towards political class and consequently towards the Spanish democratic system, when they give their opinion about poverty and immigration. Migration processes carried out by the family itself are not considered as social injustice, but as an opportunity to improve socially and economically. In relation to law, their answers highlight the debate between ethic and legal aspects. Some consider that immigration Law is unfair because it doesn't respect people's fundamental rights. Most young people believe that Catalunya is a welcoming country, where they can carry out their life project. In the initial representations, the concept of social injustice is associated with the respect for the basic rights of the people and with the need of a more egalitarian distribution of wealth. In the final representations the principles of equality, freedom and solidarity are added to this concept. Referring to equality, it takes the three dimensions of social justice: redistribution, recognition and participation. Reflexive practice helps the teacher to find the thread that gives meaning to the teaching-learning of social sciences and makes them aware that teaching needs to be contextualized to make it meaningful.

De la décennie 80 aux années 2000, la qualité de l’enseignement en Afrique subsaharienne s’est progressivement dégradée sous l’influence de multiples facteurs. Déjà caractérisés par un faible niveau d’efficacité interne, de scolarisation et d’acquis scolaires, eux-mêmes parsemés de disparités et d’inégalités, les transformations du secteur vont être accentuées par la hausse de la population scolarisable. Face à cette situation, les pouvoirs publics adopteront à l’aune de l’an 2000 une réforme des curricula par l’Approche Par Compétences (APC). Attachée à des enjeux de justice et d’amélioration des apprentissages, la mise en œuvre de l'APC n’a pas donné lieu à une large évaluation dans la littérature économique. C’est fort de ce constat, que cette thèse s’est fixée pour objectifs d’analyser son transfert et son impact par la comparaison des expériences ivoirienne et sénégalaise. Pour y parvenir, elle prend appui sur les mix methods. Aussi, les chapitres 1 et 2 identifient les caractéristiques et les particularités de chaque système, puis les déterminants et les enjeux de la réforme. Quant au chapitre 3, il analyse son transfert et son effectivité. A sa suite, le chapitre 4 évalue son impact sur les indicateurs d’efficacité interne et les acquis scolaires à travers un modèle multiniveaux. Les résultats obtenus suggèrent que l'APC ne permet pas d’expliquer l’amélioration de l’efficacité interne, qui a été le fait d'une révision des règles de régulation inter-cycles intervenue dans le cadre de la politique universelle d'éducation. Concernant la qualité des apprentissages, l’analyse économétrique corrobore l’évaluation qualitative du transfert
From 1980 to 2000, the education quality in sub-Saharan Africa decreased gradually under multiple influence. Already characterized by a low level of internal efficiency, schooling and learning outcomes, themselves dotted with regional disparities, gender and unequal access, the transformations of the education sector will be accentuated by the rise in school-age population. To deal with this situation, Governments adopt a curriculum reform at the beginning of 2000 through the Skills-Based Approach.Attached to social justice issues and learning quality, the Skills-Based Approach’ implementation has not always been conducive to rigorous evaluation in the economic literature. Due this situation, our thesis tempts to analyze its transfer and impact by comparing the Ivorian and Senegalese experiences. To achieve this goal, our work has been based on mix methods. In doing so, chapters 1 and 2 successively identify each system particularities and then the curriculum determinants and main objectives. Consecutively, chapter 3 analyzes its transfer, articulation and effectiveness in each educational system, whereas Chapter 4 assesses its impact on internal efficiency and learning quality by a multilevel model.By comparing the results from each methods, we observe that the Skills-based Approach does not explain internal efficiency improvement, which is rather the consequence of inter-cycle transition rules revision. Concerning learning quality, the econometric analysis corroborates the transfer assessment, and suggests a new approach to educational product quality: it insists to pay particular attention to the way in which educational policy is conceived and disseminated

Muslims have the starring role in the mass media’s curriculum on otherness, which circulates in-between local and global contexts to powerfully constitute subjectivities. This study inquires into what it is like to be a female, Muslim student in Ontario, in this post 9/11 discursive context. Seven young Muslim women share stories of their high schooling experiences and their sense of identity in interviews and focus group sessions. They also respond to images of Muslim females in the print media, offering perspectives on the intersections of visual media discourses with their lived experience. This interdisciplinary project draws from cultural studies, postcolonial feminist theory, and post-reconceptualist curriculum theorizing. Working with auto/ethno/graphy, my own subjectivity is also brought into the study to trouble researcher-as-knower and acknowledge that personal histories are implicated in larger social, cultural, and historical processes. Using bricolage, I compose a hybrid text with multiple layers of meaning by juxtapositing theory, image, and narrative, leaving spaces for the reader’s own biography to become entangled with what is emerging in the text. Issues raised include veiling obsession, Islamophobia, absences in the school curriculum, and mass media as curriculum. Muslim females navigate a complex discursive terrain and their identity negotiations are varied. These include creating Muslim spaces in their schools, wearing hijab to assert their Muslim identity, and downplaying their religious identity at school. I argue for the need to engage students and teacher candidates in complicated conversations on difference via auto/ethno/graphy, pedagogies of tension, and epistemologies of doubt. Educators and researchers might also consider the possibilities of linking visual media literacy with social justice issues.

Published Article
Social justice as a higher education project in South Africa has been a subject of intense debate mainly at institutional level, with considerable time and energy devoted to how such projects should take shape. There is, however, a need for a more profound understanding of how such an agenda plays itself out at classroom level. By engaging a self-study methodology, I argue for how the critical spaces that comprise a teacher education pedagogy curriculum can be effectively harnessed to foreground issues of social justice. I proceed to theorise an integrated social justice model for a pedagogy curriculum by demonstrating how the social justice teacher education pedagogue, a social justice pedagogy and a social justice troubling of disciplinary knowledge is likely to shape the social justice dispositions of the imagined student teacher.

This project analyzed the materials and training currently being taught in a 8 hour history and principles of law enforcement course at the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Training Academy, in conjunction with San Bernardino Valley College.

This thesis explores how individuals in the UK come to and sustain engagement with global justice issues (such as poverty, development and human rights). It responds to a scarcity of relevant research and a stated desire for greater understanding from those involved in development education and related areas. Relevant literature is used to develop: a working definition of the UK Global Justice Movement; a new conceptual framework for understanding forms of engagement; a ‘route map’ summarising knowledge about individuals’ journeys to engagement; and an understanding of current practice and debates in development education and related fields. Using narrative research techniques, the study then presents five individuals’ life stories with respect to engagement with global justice issues. The respondents come from a range of backgrounds and utilise a number of different forms of engagement, but all act in some way as educators/multipliers of engagement. Their stories are analysed using two different ‘lenses’: together, considering themes relevant to development education, and separately, investigating how concepts related to identity (Social Identity Theory, Identity Theory and Narrative Identity) can be used to understand individuals’ engagement. This analysis includes discussion of: the places in which learning happens; debates concerning learning, criticality and visits overseas; the extent to which respondents might be understood to be development educators themselves; roles they have played; the in- (and out-) groups mentioned; and the various sources of narrative available to each of them over the course of their journeys to and within engagement. Finally, the thesis suggests implications for researchers, policy makers and practitioners. This includes: future use of the concepts developed; further exploration of the potential learning value of ‘low cost’ forms engagement; supporting individuals to engage with different organisations and issues ‘across’ the movement; and, considering possibilities for work with families and faith groups.

This qualitative study is an exploration of final year Social Science education students awareness of the intertwined nature of Social Science as a subject and the role of social justice in the classroom of a democratic South Africa. This study finds that South African Social Science teachers interpret or experience the teaching of Social Science in various ways. In the South African transitional justice environment, Social Science education had to take into account the legacies of the apartheid-era schooling system and the official history narrative that contributed to conflict in South Africa. Throughout the world, issues of social justice and equity are becoming a significant part of everyday discourse in education and some of these themes are part of the Social Science curriculum. Through a qualitative research methodology, data was gathered from Focus Group Discussion (FGD) sessions with three groups of five teacher education students in two of the groups and the third having ten participants from the same race, in their final year, specializing in Social Science teaching. The data obtained were categorised and analysed in terms of the student teacher’s awareness of the intertwined nature of Social Science and social justice education. The results of the study have revealed that participants had a penchant for the subject Social Science because it assisted them to have a better understanding of social justice and the unequal society they live in; an awareness of social ills, and the challenges of people. Participants identified social justice characteristics within Social Science and relate to some extent while they were teaching the subject, certain themes within the Social Science curriculum. Findings suggest that the subject Social Science provides a perspective as to why social injustice and inequality are so prevalent in South Africa and in some parts of the world. Social Science content in its current form and South African context, emanates from events and activities that took place in communities and in the broader society, thus the linkage to social justice education. This study recommends different approaches to infuse social justice considerations Social Science; one being an empathetic approach – introducing activities to assist learners in viewing an issue from someone else’s perspective, particularly when issues of prejudice or discrimination against a particular group arise, or if the issue is remote from learners’ lives.

In 2015, students at the University of Cape Town called for the statue of Cecil Rhodes, the 19th century British coloniser, to be removed from their campus. Their clarion call, in this increasingly widespread #RhodesMustFall movement, was that for diversity, inclusion and social justice to become a lived reality in higher education (HE), the curriculum has to be ‘decolonised’. (Chantiluke, et al, 2018; Le Grange, 2016) This was to be done by challenging the longstanding, hegemonic Eurocentric production of knowledge and dominant values by accommodating alternative perspectives, epistemologies and content. Moreover, they also called for broader institutional changes: fees must fall, and the recruitment and retention of both students and staff should take better account of cultural diversity rather than working to socially reproduce ‘white privilege’ (Bhambra, et al, 2015) Concerns had long been voiced by both academics and students about curricula dominated by white, capitalist, heterosexual, western worldviews at the expense of the experiences and discourses of those not perceiving themselves as fitting into those mainstream categories (for an Afrocentric perspective, see inter alia, Asante, 1995; Hicks & Holden, 2007) The massification of HE across race and class lines in the past four decades has fuelled these debates; consequentially, the ‘fitness’ of curricula across disciplines are increasingly being questioned. Student representative bodies have also voiced the deeper concern that many pedagogic practices and assessment techniques in university systems serve to reproduce society’s broader inequalities. Certainly, in the UK, recent in-depth research has indicated that the outcomes of inequity are both multifaceted and tangible, with, for example, graduating students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds only receiving half as many ‘good’ (first class and upper second) degree classifications as their white counterparts (RHS, 2018). As a consequence of such findings and reports, the momentum for discussing the issues around diversifying and decolonising the university has gathered pace. Importantly, however, as the case and arguments have been expressed not only through peer reviewed articles and reports published by learned societies, but also in the popular press, the core issues have become more accessible than most academic debates and more readily discussed by both teachers and learners (Arday and Mirza, 2018; RHS, 2018). Hence, more recently, findings about the attainment/awarding gap have been taken seriously and given prominence by both Universities UK and the National Union of Students, though their shared conclusion is that radical (though yet to be determined) steps are needed if any movements or campaigns, such as #closingthegap are to find any success. (Universities UK, 2019; NUS, 2016; Shay, 2016)

This paper reports on the experience gained with an undergraduate Law module – LW3372 Environmental Law: Contemporary Issues in Governance, Regulation and Enforcement – in the academic year 2018/19. This module incorporates specific features designed to enable students to engage with environmental law ‘in action’ through experiential learning opportunities set in the context of a research-based approach to teaching and learning. In 2018/19, the module was restructured to map it on to the Connected Curriculum framework adopted by University College Cork (University College Cork, 2018). This involved, in particular, a stronger focus on the research component which forms part of the assessment for the module and more explicit linkages to law ‘in action’, specifically: how to engage Law to solve contemporary societal challenges. The module also sought to draw out and engage with implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a particular focus on Goal 13 Climate Action and Goal 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (UN General Assembly, 2015). The research objective underpinning this project was to explore and report on the experience of implementing selected elements of University College Cork’s Connected Curriculum framework in an undergraduate module. The project on which this paper is based drew on the detailed framework for curriculum design and renewal developed by Dilly Fung at University College London (UCL) (Fung, 2017). The core principle underpinning UCL’s Connected Curriculum initiative is that students learn through research and active enquiry. One particularly important dimension of the model developed by Fung involves connecting students with research and researchers. Early exposure to frontier research, together with the opportunity to connect directly with researchers and practitioners who are working to solve societal challenges, equips students with invaluable insights into their field of study. It also serves to demonstrate to students the fundamental role of research in society. Connecting effectively with research facilitates a further dimension of the Connected Curriculum framework – ‘outwardfacing student assessments’. In other words, the assessment element of a module or programme, as the case may be, is conceptualised and designed to be the ‘output’ of a student’s own research and enquiry. Depending on the particular model of assessment deployed, this ‘output’ may have an impact on local and wider audiences (e.g. policy briefs, research reports, blogs, podcasts, student-run events etc.). This outward-facing focus, and the emphasis on student-generated outputs, is a key element of delivering impactful experiential learning opportunities in the field of environmental law.

Abstract User requirements and engineering specifications represent important criteria that engineering designers use to define their design problems and evaluate the suitability of their solution concepts. Novice designers frequently develop user requirements and engineering specifications as part of curricular design projects; however, few studies have explored how novice designers justify the user requirements and engineering specifications that they develop. This preliminary study analyzed the design reports of capstone design teams to determine how novice designer participants justified their user requirements and engineering specifications. Teams frequently used “Sponsor interactions” and “Perceptions of user needs” as justifications for user requirements but gathered limited data directly from users. As such, the user requirements developed by teams may have been based on team assumptions rather than actual user needs. Teams frequently used “Sponsor interactions,” “Technical research,” and “Prior work” as justifications for engineering specifications. However, teams also developed several engineering specifications without clear justifications. Our findings suggest that as novice designers develop their design skills, they may need scaffolding and support tools to guide the development of user requirements and engineering specifications that accurately reflect user needs.

Mechanical designs in industry typically do not include adequate specification of allowable part geometry variation. Poorly applied Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T), ambiguous plus/minus location or orientation controls, and sometimes no variation specifications (only a 3D CAD body) are commonly all that is done. Since improper specifications cause confusion, and since functional requirements are likely either more precise, or less precise, than the manufacturing process will deliver, excessive costs of dealing with geometry variation result. Specifications which unambiguously capture the functional needs of critical part features, combined with properly gathered and consistently reported measurement data would provide a competitive advantage for any company producing a precise mechanical product. The need to capture functional requirements, and also the improved part designs that result when thinking includes the cost & quality issues clarified by GD&T makes this subject an important element of design focused mechanical engineering education. Especially when tolerance analysis and measurement process quality considerations are included, there is sufficient academic rigor to justify additional coursework. The critical seed needed to remedy industry’s knowledge gap regarding dimensional specifications and associated data is to include two academic quarters of GD&T and Dimensional Management design electives as part of every mechanical engineering curriculum.

Almost all pre-service teachers enter the profession of education with a strong belief that their efforts will make a positive contribution to society and the lives of individual learners. The statement above can be achieved or not achieved depending on different factors influencing pre-service teachers’ pedagogies. The purpose of this study was to establish and explain factors influencing Physical Sciences pre-service teachers’ pedagogical orientations. ‘Orientation’ refers to teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about teaching sciences. There are various classifications of pedagogical orientations and they can be classified into Direct Didactic, Direct Active, Guided Inquiry and Open Inquiry. A qualitative approach was adopted to establish factors influencing the Physical Sciences pre-service teachers’ pedagogical orientations. The data was collected through an existing instrument called the Pedagogy of Science Teaching Test (POSTT) and interviews. A POSTT was administered to final year undergraduate secondary school Physical Sciences pre-service teachers and is comprised of five items portraying an actual teaching scenario for a particular Physical Sciences topic. When responding to the POSTT, pre-service teachers were requested to select the most appropriate and the most inappropriate pedagogical orientation from the four options given and justify their selected option. Eight Physical Sciences pre-service teachers were purposefully selected for interviews. The interviews were part of the study to give pre-service teachers a chance to elaborate on their POSTT responses. The findings of this study revealed that the Physical Sciences preservice teachers’ pedagogical orientations were influenced by the following factors: time constraints, availability of resources, and curriculum goals to mention a few.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.