We are feminist scholars who research and teach at a university in the United States situated within histories of sociopolitical conservativism and oppressions. In the present, looming over our classrooms, are mandates to eliminate 'divisive concepts' such as race and gender. These political monsters gnash their teeth and foam at the mouth as they…

Populists employ truth as a tool for aligning the people against the elite. Citizenship education rarely takes up critiques of liberal democracy, discussions of populism, or conversations about what truth is. This paper provides an alternative pragmatist vision of truth that builds on the populist call for democracy to better reflect the will of…

This article discusses how Heterodox Academy's attempts to promote heterodoxy have floundered in the seven years since its founding because of four reasons: (1) It Became Another Club for Leftists; (2) It Refuses to Leverage Political Power; (3) HxA Leaders Are Trying to Make a Big-Tent Movement; and (4) HxA Won't Support Heterodoxy on the Most…

This article describes the work of a civic education program in New York City schools called Youthbuilders, which existed from 1938 to 1948. Youthbuilders' aim was to engage youth in civic education projects and teach them about their place in a democracy and worked with them to support racial and social equality. Shortly after World War II, they…

The term "freethinking" originated in the 17th century to describe inquiry into beliefs which were accepted unquestioningly. Feminists such as Mary Wolstonecraft, abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, and novelists such as Mark Twain and Zora Neal Hurston are among the many who dared to simultaneously challenge religious dogma,…

Among the most urgent matters in contemporary education discourses are those that delve into the justice issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Colleges of Education are critical sites for such discourse. In particular, the teaching methods course is where candidates are to acquire tools to take up such issues. Success of justice…

Recent research on the school-to-prison pipeline has exposed the disciplining and punishment of Black and Brown youth in today's school system. Given the convergence of racism and capitalism in the prison system, various marginalized community groups have called for its abolishment. Using teacher practitioner inquiry, this article asserts prison…

While there have been myriad and significant changes in technology, geopolitical relations, environmental shifts and political upheaval, we are still plagued with social inequalities, injustice, warfare and xenophobia, all of which frames our context and contextual analysis. September 11 was a global event or moment because it happened in the…

Grounded in a partnership among researchers, a racial justice organization, and K-12 schools, this study uncovers the challenges of pursuing racial justice work in a polarized sociopolitical climate. Specifically, we illustrate these tensions across three dimensions of our work: (a) establishing critical commitments with K-12 partners; (b)…

In two different occasions in the twentieth century John Dewey and Maxine Greene stressed the point that educators should attend to 'what the known demands of us'. Following this dictum, from a critical perspective and with a constructive pedagogical spirit, in this paper we portray a new paradigm for values education that addresses the major…

This essay explores new avenues towards challenging inequity in these dark times. In these dark times, neoliberalism has coopted discourses that once challenged inequality and systems of power. Social justice, diversity, and identity politics--once powerful discourses that challenged inequality--have now been adopted by those in power to sustain…

This article examines how school boards in New Jersey navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, which also coincided with the national trauma and reactions related to the George Floyd murder and subsequent backlash. The politicization of issues during that first year of the pandemic foreshadowed profound changes in the world of many school boards in New…

The Policy Field Unit (PFU) is an independently designed practicum placement for School of Social Work (SSW) students at a large, urban Midwestern university. The placement provides students an opportunity to engage with the policy process as macro social work practitioners in a variety of settings. Increasing social work students' efficacy in…

Reflecting an international shift from punitive to more rehabilitative responses to youth offending, many Australian youth justice systems are undergoing significant revision and reform. The urgency of these changes are intensified by longstanding inequities pertaining to the gross overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth…

Relational social justice integrates psychological theories and practices with political and social change paradigms to situate relationships as central to ethical decision making. The core of this approach entails strong assurance of human rights and commitment to dialogue across racial, cultural, social, and political differences. Typical…