Invited Presentation Social Justice in Education, London Metropolitan University: Dr. Paul Downes

Dr. Paul Downes, Director, Educational Disadvantage Centre, Associate Professor of Psychology of Education, Institute of Education gave an invited presentation, Future Directions for Social Justice Research  in Education: Europe and Internationally

at the London Metropolitan University, Global Diversities and Inequalities Research Centre Webinar Event to launch the Book, Educational Research for Social Justice (A. Ross, Ed.) (Springer) October 13, 2021.

Other presentations given at the webinar were by Professor Mustafa Yunus Eryaman  the current President of the World Education Research Association, Professor at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey and by Professor Jan Bamford, Professor of International Higher Education, co-director of the Higher Education Research Group and Professor Digby Warren, Head of the Centre for Professional & Educational Development and co-director of the Higher Education Research Group at London Metropolitan University. 

Professor Alistair Ross, Editor of the book, Senior Professor in Politics and Education at London Metropolitan University gave the initial presentation.

Dr. Downes’ presentation identified the elasticity of the concept of social justice and argued for it to be developed in three further innovative directions in future – with regard to a spatial turn for social justice research in education, a focus on the concrete other in systems of care and developing a human rights based focus integrating key insights from the UN Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health into education.

He argued that the book, Educational Research for Social Justice, offers an array of pervasive spatial concerns with a shift away from diametric spatial systems of exclusion towards concentric spaces of inclusion, building on his own recent book, Reconstructing agency in developmental and educational psychology: Inclusive Systems as Concentric Space (2020). Dr. Downes identified implicit examples of diametric spatial system splitting and opposition as concerns in Professor Ross’ edited book. These include suspension and ‘offrolling’ in the interests of the school rather than the student, winner/loser meritocratic school cultures imposing narrow labels of failure/success, framing of students and families as ‘hard to reach’ as part of an us/them divide, a ‘false dichotomy’ opposing creativity versus basic literacy skills, young people categorising self and other with divisive identities based on assumed separation, as well as ‘cultural distance’ in Higher Education.

Dr. Downes emphasised the need for reconceptualising social justice as systems of care based on assumed connection to the concrete other, building on the feminist work of Carol Gilligan and Seyla Benhabib, linking this also with a tradition of left realism in criminology led by Jock Young, to focus on lived realities of marginalised groups - regarding hunger, sleep, mental health strains, substance abuse, discrimination, bullying, suspension, gangs, fear of failure, authoritarian teaching. These issues are related to EU Commission concerns with early school leaving as a key ET2020 and ET2030 target, including a focus on systems of care for complexity involving multidisciplinary teams in and around schools, bridging health and education.

The third strand of Dr. Downes’ presentation highlighted the neglect of a poverty focus in the UN Children’s Rights Convention and the opportunities for social justice research to develop legal rights based arguments through the framework of the UN Right to the highest attainable standard of health, developed for education. This framework offers an explicit engagement with poverty, vulnerable groups, minorities and local community participation. Interdisciplinary bridges for social justice in education are argued to need to bring together psychology, law, geography, criminology and health promotion with sociology, politics, economics, philosophy to find common discourses for policy and practice relevant debate. The IRNEYET (International Research Network on Equity in Youth Education and Training) co-founded and led by Dr. Downes and DCU Educational Disadvantage Centre seeks to build such bridges.

https://www.dcu.ie/edc/international-research-network-equity-youth-education-and-training