Social justice praxis in education : towards sustainable management strategies

• Published in: South African journal of education Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Van der Westhuizen, Philip C., Van Deventer, Idilette, Potgieter, Ferdinand J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Education Association of South Africa (EASA) 01-05-2015; Education Association of South Africa
• Subjects: Administrator Responsibility; Caring; Change Strategies; Constructivism (Learning); Determinants; Education; Education & Educational Research; Education, Scientific Disciplines; Educational Strategies; Empathy; Equality; Focus Groups; Foreign Countries; Governance; Human rights; Interpersonal Relationship; Leadership Styles; Management; Management strategies; Positivism; Praxis; Principals; Qualitative Research; Restorative; School Administration; Schools; Semi Structured Interviews; Social Justice; Social justice praxis; Strategic management; Sustainability; Sustainable development; Transformative; Ubuntu; South Africa; sustainable development; determinants; education; ubuntu; human rights; management strategies; social justice praxis; transformative; restorative
• ISSN: 0256-0100; 2076-3433; 2076-3433
• DOI: 10.15700/saje.v35n2a956

Social justice, defined as an impetus towards a socially just educational world, is based on the assumption that all people, irrespective of belief or societal position, are entitled to be treated according to the values of human rights, human dignity and equality. Diverging from the classical positivist approach in social science research that takes injustice as its impetus, the researchers departed from a socio-rationalist approach into exploring sustainable management strategies for effective social justice praxis. This approach has enabled the construction of a conceptual-theoretical framework and an iterative qualitative inquiry, which has as its central principal the sustainable management strategies for effective social justice praxis. Four key findings affirmed the belief that good praxis was to be found in Gemeinschaft relationships, in the influence exerted by government and education systems and structures, where government and principals were found to be co-responsible in ensuring that the best interest of the child was served. This responsibility included practices found in collaborative efforts, where communities became the guardians of their schools due to a disciplined school that followed constitutional values. Lastly, these practitioners aligned their management strategies with human rights values, as well as human dignity and equality, and their strategies found pride of place in extant ubuntu principles.