ERIC Number: EJ1178546
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0267-1522
EISSN: N/A
Students' Views on Fairness in Education: The Importance of Relational Justice and Stakes Fairness
Mazzoli Smith, Laura; Todd, Liz; Laing, Karen
Research Papers in Education, v33 n3 p336-353 2018
This paper discusses a research project which sought to find out about young people's views on fairness in education in English schools. Fairness is an everyday term, which in policy hides multiple and contradictory positions across the political divide. In education, we find a policy context that focuses on distributional justice and equality of opportunity but also on principles of freedom and choice. This paper argues that engaging with how young people understand fairness contributes to models of social justice in education. Focus group data and written statements on fairness from approximately 80 young people aged 16-18 from five very different English schools were analysed. Students' primary concerns, absent from educational policy, were the themes of relational justice and stakes fairness, which are eclipsed by current recourse to distributive justice and meritocratic ideals. We argue that a focus on the lived experience of fairness is therefore necessary to widen the discourse about what is fair in education and to reinvigorate public debate about the values on which our education system is based.
Descriptors: Student Attitudes, Ethics, Educational Policy, Educational Opportunities, Equal Education, Secondary School Students, Academic Achievement, Values, Foreign Countries, Freedom, Social Justice, Focus Groups, Interviews
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A