ERIC Number: EJ1019470
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Nov
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1477-8785
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Available Date: N/A
Helping by Hurting: The Paradox of Suffering in Social Justice Education
Mintz, Avi I.
Theory and Research in Education, v11 n3 p215-230 Nov 2013
Suffering has a complex role in social justice education. The alleviation or eradication of suffering is a goal of social justice education while, simultaneously, students suffer in the process of learning about the suffering of others. Educational theorists have attempted to resolve this paradox in various ways and the author of this article identifies and discusses four distinct resolutions. First, student suffering is permissible because it is self-inflicted (rather than inflicted by the teacher). Second, the students' pain, compassion, is desirable and distinct from the pain experienced by victims of injustice. Third, students should experience the same kind of suffering as the victims of injustice in order to inoculate them against racist, discriminatory, and oppressive attitudes. Fourth, the suffering of marginalized and oppressed students is a distinct form of suffering that empowers students by enabling them to recognize their own suffering.
Descriptors: Social Justice, Emotional Response, Empathy, Psychological Patterns, Teaching Methods, Student Experience, Educational Theories, Controversial Issues (Course Content), Social Cognition, Student Reaction, Identification (Psychology), Empowerment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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