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Document Type

Special Section

Theme

THE POLITICS OF "SOCIAL JUSTICE"

Abstract

This article uses the recent and seemingly local NCATE decision to drop the terminology of “social justice” from its examples of dispositions in teacher education to make a larger and more global argument: that the multicultural foundations field (educational foundations, educational studies, and multicultural education) has become fundamentally marginalized in its ability to impact educational policymaking. This article first traces the political context of NCATE’s decision to drop the disposition of social justice. It then provides three distinct empirical data sets at three ever-more finely grained units of analysis—a national-level analysis of influence, a state-level analysis of coursework requirements, and a classroom-level analysis of syllabus construction—that demonstrate such marginalization. The article concludes that multicultural foundations has abdicated its responsibility to future teachers, schools of education, and the public at large by removing itself (and being removed) from the paramount discussions and debates of the role of schools in a democratic and pluralistic society committed to equity and equality for all students. NCATE's decision is thus not only a single, but actually singular, example of multicultural foundation’s current inability to, in Maxine Greene’s (1976) terminology, challenge mystification in “dark times.”

Genre/Form

articles

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Social justice and education--United States; Educational equalization--United States; Multicultural education--United States; Teachers--Training of--United States

Subjects - Names (LCNAF)

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education; United States. Department of Education

Geographic Coverage

United States

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

Type

Text

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