Is Teaching for Social Justice a "Liberal Bias"?

Autor/in	Applebaum, Barbara
Titel	Is Teaching for Social Justice a "Liberal Bias"?
Quelle	In: Teachers College Record, 111 (2009) 2, S.376-408 (33 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1467-9620
Schlagwörter	Social Justice; Higher Education; Ideology; Social Change; Educational Researchers; Political Attitudes; Teacher Education; Educational Objectives; Bias; Teacher Attitudes; Educational Philosophy; Critical Thinking + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Soziale Gerechtigkeit; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Ideologie; Sozialer Wandel; Erziehungswissenschaftler; Erziehungswissenschaftlerin; Political attitude; Politische Einstellung; Lehrerausbildung; Lehrerbildung; Educational objective; Bildungsziel; Erziehungsziel; Lehrerverhalten; Bildungsphilosophie; Erziehungsphilosophie; Kritisches Denken
Abstract	Background/Context: A charge heard repeatedly, especially in contemporary media by neo-conservatives such as David Horowitz and George Will, maintains that there is a "liberal bias" in North American academe. The primary grievance is that students in higher education are being indoctrinated into a left-wing ideology that discriminates against conservatives and that some professors are using their classrooms as a political podium at the expense of intellectual diversity. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The purpose of this project is to analytically assess the charge of "liberal bias" as it is specifically leveled at those who make social justice education a requirement of higher education, and especially teacher education. Research Design: Using conceptual analysis, this project highlights two aspects of the charge: the charge of "bias" and the charge of "ideology/imposition." It is argued that the charge of bias is grounded in an assumption about teacher neutrality. The concept of teacher neutrality is examined and shown to be primarily concerned with evenhandedness. It is concluded that under conditions of systemic injustice, social justice education is evenhanded. The charge of ideology/imposition is then explored, and it is argued that the underlying concern revolves around the development of critical reflection. Four different readings of "ideology" are delineated. It is argued that social justice education, although ideological in some sense, does not in principle involve imposition because it promotes rather than arrests criticality. The type of criticality that social justice education promotes is then elucidated. Conclusions/Recommendations: Making social justice education a requirement of higher education is both evenhanded and, although a type of ideology, it promotes rather than impedes criticality. Educational researchers are exhorted to be less concerned about bias and ideology in regard to social justice education and to turn their attention to how privileged students can be educated without recentering their privilege in ways that sacrifice the education of the marginalized (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Teachers College, Columbia University. P.O. Box 103, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027. Tel: 212-678-3774; Fax: 212-678-6619; e-mail: tcr@tc.edu; Web site: http://www.tcrecord.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10