Project status
Complete
Duration
1 Nov 2020 to 31 Oct 2023
Complete
1 Nov 2020 to 31 Oct 2023
This project recognises that the links between education and sustainable development are premised on complex manifestations of justice in and through education, and they should be researched as such.
Attending to both the lived experiences of secondary education and the complex trajectories across policies, curricula, classroom teaching and learning outcomes, we aim to explore the degree to which experiences of (in)justice through schooling and learning about (in)justice in schools can drive the intended actions of secondary school learners to meet Sustainable Development Goal 10 (reducing inequalities), 13 (climate action) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).
This evidence brief is available in English and Spanish:
Beyond “ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education” (SDG 4), education is expected to play a key role in relation to the goals of promoting climate action (SDG13), peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG16) and reduced inequalities (SDG10). The JustEd research project has explored these assumptions and considered more robust ways that education can support a range of national and global development priorities. Our key findings enrich understanding of (in)justice in education and can be useful for analysing the ways that education can enable more just futures.
In this evidence brief, we outline the six dimensions of a justice-based approach to secondary curriculum and pedagogy that we have developed as a result of our findings. We see these as inter-related and essential approaches that can provide the necessary support for learners to be able to analyse and evaluate justice-related issues, understand the world around them, and enable them to take positive action, particularly related to peace, climate action and reducing inequalities.
In this evidence brief, we demonstrate the complex trajectories between secondary education and its intended outcomes in relation to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). A central assumption of the role of education for enabling sustainable development is that what is learnt in school will translate into positive attitudes and behaviours. Education’s contribution can assume linear trajectories in global and national policy documentation, with an emphasis on policy and curricular content following through to positive outcomes. However, our findings show that these trajectories are more complicated and depend on a range of factors within the education system, notably in relation to pedagogy, the school environment and assessment.
This policy brief offers recommendations to increase the effectiveness of education's contributions to the SDGs by giving greater priority to young people's experiences of justice, safety and dignity in school.
This guide is available as a general overview and as a specific version focused on Uganda:
This guide aims to engage secondary school teachers and teacher educators in three distinct, but interconnected aspects of justice – environmental, epistemic and transitional justice – and provide guidance and tools to help them embed a justice approach in their teaching and educational practice.
This policy brief reports findings from a large international study that explored environmental education in secondary schooling. It offers recommendations to increase the effectiveness of education’s contributions to climate action goals in ways that also advance justice and equity.
We focus on three specific types of justice (and the relationships between them) that have been underexplored in education and international development to date. These include:
Using an exploratory mixed methods research design, we will explore linkages between:
We work in three regions affected by environmental, epistemic and transitional injustice:
The JustEd research team are active on social media, sharing updates on the project and engaging with current issues. Follow JustEd on Twitter
This project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
If you have any further questions about our discussion papers, please contact emam25@bath.ac.uk or rw2031@bath.ac.uk
Academic publications currently under preparation.
Scroll through our gallery of images from our work in Nepal, Peru and Uganda.
Find out more about this research project
Detailed project informationContact us if you have any questions about this research project, or our background papers.