Running Head: INTEGRATING DEMOCRACY THROUGH A SOCIAL JUSTICE CURRICULUM

Integrating Democracy Through a Social Justice Curriculum

Kayla Angermeier, Bethany Brown, Gordon Donahue, Jessica LeFevre, Kelsey Martinez
Miami University
1 May 2015

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Abstract
The shift from progressivism to essentialism in education due to its corporatization has
impeded the chance for a true democratic education, specifically an integrated curriculum
centered on social justice issues. With our progressivist curriculum we will address the mandated
standards while incorporating democratic ideals with a focus on social justice.

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Introduction
The ever changing, complex society we live in provides many areas of difficulty in
education. As the presence of corporatization has increased within the public school system, the
effects of its presence can be seen in the depths of its inducted curriculum. As a result, the issue
regarding the shift from the progressivist to essentialist education philosophies becomes blatantly
obvious to not only the educators who administer the policies, but by the type of student that is
being produced. As future educators, we spend a lot of our time learning about the importance of
integrated curriculum in the elementary classroom in a progressivist manner. We are taught that
public schools are a place where people must come together from all backgrounds, experiences,
and walks of life to form a community, despite the differences and inequalities among them.
With how much emphasis and importance is placed on this teaching philosophy, we believe that
it is our responsibility to provide students with the opportunity to experience learning in an
authentic, integrated atmosphere. Unfortunately in our experience, the majority of classrooms
separate students and subjects from one another by centering academic instruction around
reading, writing, and math as separate entities, rather than through an integrated curriculum. The
idea and process of a democratically educated society is determined by the constant support and
encouragement of the free thinking and critically inquiring students within the public school
system. Without a basis in community and global awareness, students, and subsequently the
society at large, will not seek the need to be changed or improved upon. Through our justice
oriented, integrated curriculum, centered on the progressivist approach, we aim to change the
status quo of education.

Curriculum Rationale

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Corporatization of education is the power and influence that big business corporations
have over the education system in America. The lasting negative effects of corporatization are
demonstrated mainly through curriculum readjustments, particularly ones that cater
specifically to standardized testing. As a result of this brand of management, standardized
tests subsequently align themselves with essentialist practices in addressing and documenting
foundational skills. Left alone this would not be an issue, however, with the inherent, high
stakes nature of the assessment structure, specifically the tying of funding and teacher
evaluation to the results of standardized tests, testing and essentialist practices indirectly
promote negative teaching habits, such as explicitly teaching to the test. Many teachers have
resorted to these practices because, There is a great amount of stress on NCLB which affects
your ability to teach quality education to students. Everything is centered around making all
children pass the state test. (Hill-Anderson & Harrison, 2012, pp. 5). This tunnel vision with
standardized tests as the sole focus leads to the elimination of studies seen as superfluous such
as those in artistic mediums and in areas of real world concern.
Misco and Shiveley argue that, education is very much a process of forming
dispositions, or attitudes and habits of the mind, which are both intellectual and emotional. The
formation of dispositions will occur in schools whether they are conscious or not (2010, pp.
122). Since students will develop dispositions towards studies that are seen as superfluous,
whether they are aware of it or not, it is important for schools to foster the development of
dispositions that align with the democratic values of the public school system. If a society and
its burgeoning population do not take the appropriate time to examine and reflect upon itself
with every new generation, despite the successes of the past, it may begin to contribute to its
own degradation. As the world becomes more interconnected and views diversify, it is

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necessary to foster students respect and general intrigue with discovering that which is foreign
in concept to them. This is where education has the potential to inspire; through the creation
of an integrated curricular atmosphere, where schooling is dedicated to the production of
critically analyzing, democratic citizens. This will create the possibility of bringing about not
only a global community with people who venerate the differences of one another, but can also
see the inherent strengths that these variances bring.
Curriculum Overview
School reform has traditionally been about outside companies selling schools boxed
curriculums that propose a solution to the issue of raising test scores. However, this is not a fix
for the problems that are seen within the public school system. In order to produce lasting
positive change, schools need the inside/out developmental work that all communities and
organizations, like schools, need to do to keep their purposes and mission in focus and to do
good work for the benefit of society, (Poetter, 2014, p. 119). While we do believe that all
members of the school community play an important role in this new curriculum, we chose to
specifically target students and teachers as they are the ones who will be directly involved in the
development and implementation of the curriculum.
We are targeting the students because they are the most significant members of the school
community. The new curriculum we are hoping to implement is not only for, but about the
students and their personal interests and needs. If the goal of our curriculum is to develop
democratically just citizens through community work, involving students in their own education
is a vital first step in helping them become active members of the community. Since the students
are the future of our society, we plan to involve them in the curriculum as much as possible to

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promote and ensure that their dispositions and philosophies within society leads us one step
closer to a socially just world.
Likewise, it is in our interest to target teachers, as well as pre-service teachers, because
they are responsible for the direct implementation of the curriculum. In order for this
implementation to be successful, teachers must recognize and understand the transition from the
essentialist curriculum that is currently being utilized, to the progressivist curriculum with justice
and community at its core. While teachers need to understand the steps and procedures necessary
to implement this complex curriculum, there is more to teaching social justice than just
promoting it in the classroom and leading the students to take over from there. Teachers are the
leaders of this movement and activism outside of the classroom is necessary to express a vision
for justice apart from the childrens vision. According to Picower (2012a), teacher activists make
a commitment to reconciling the vision they have for a socially just world, moving toward
liberation and standing up to oppression all outside the classroom (p. 4). In the classroom, the
social justice curriculum proposed by Picower (2012b), forms a systematic approach which
includes discomfort, as well as celebration. It also speaks to passion, analysis, and respect as well
as deconstruction. Teachers who desire to promote social justice in the classroom must also work
together outside the classroom towards issues about which they feel passionate. The first part of
their active work involves reconciling the vision (Picower, 2012a, p. 5). As part of this
commitment, teachers work towards their ideal socially just world and have strong beliefs that
their vision is possible (Picower, 2012a, p. 5). Through their work, they are moving toward
liberation (Picower, 2012a, p. 6). This works hand in hand with the curriculum as teachers are
helping students with their ideas about inequality and creating a community-responsive
classroom. Activists are sharing their knowledge and skills with their students and helping them

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become competent enough to become their own type of activist (Picower, 2012a, p. 6). While
striving for liberation, teacher activists face oppression as their opponent and they must stand up
against it. Picower (2012a) discusses this commitment as ongoing and collective action to rally
against the ways that schooling reproduces existing inequalities and maintains the status quo (p.
4). Teacher activists are working for change in the citizens that schools are producing. One way
they can do this is through their curriculum, by teaching students to work for change in their own
communities.
The timeframe for this curriculum is indefinite because the learning process associated
with public schooling is itself indefinite. While the projects and specific issues that the
students and teachers view as important will understandably change and vary within individual
classrooms, the overall philosophy will remain steadfast and serve as a framework for all
aspects of student learning. Projects can range in length from a few weeks, to a couple of
months, to encompassing the entire school, as student passions and investment may fuel the
desire to lengthen the educational experience. Naturally, this curriculum should be loose in
construction, subject to change to address the needs of the individual students in any particular
classroom, as well as the community that encapsulates them. As a result, and as
aforementioned, we do not believe that we can place a definite timeframe on this curriculum.
Objective
Our overarching objective is to create a progressivist curriculum, centered on social
justice. Through this progressivist curriculum, we will give students the power to create their
own learning based on personal interest, leading to their own sense of justice in the
community. As we are striving to produce socially just citizens through this progressivist

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mindset, we will, in turn, promote our vision of democratic social living as well. By centering
our focus on social justice, we are striving to create a curriculum that leads students in their
own search for justice. In practice, we are employing interdisciplinary subject matter and a
relevant curriculum, to promote student achievement and engagement. Through this
engagement, students will flourish and develop a sense of self that will follow them throughout
their lives and lead to the development of socially aware and justice oriented members of the
community.
Curriculum in Practice
In practice, our curriculum is a compilation of six different parts, with justice at its
core. These six parts are meant to exist in a sequential order where instruction begins with a
focus on the self, and ends with the students taking action in the social justice realm. While our
curriculum is embedded in the progressivist mindset, we acknowledge that there are standards
to be addressed. These standards are not the central focus of our curriculum; however it is
important that teachers still be accountable for the integration of the mandated content. In
order to do this, we will implement this curriculum through a system akin to camouflaging,
but, in reality being representative of an integrative, fluid educational process. In an academic
climate where curriculum revolves around standards and testing, with quantifiable results
being the crux of the educational arch, integration of justice is absolutely necessary, and
according to Picower (2012b), camouflaging can be used as an effective means to integrate
elements of social justice into what is currently the mandatory curriculum. In order to
accomplish this feat, the teacher must first pick pertinent topics in the areas of inequality, and
then subsequently reinforce these concepts through standards-based academic skills (Picower,
2012b, p.13). Certainly, through the use of camouflaging, it can be ensured that all essential

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standards, skills, and curricula can be addressed, all the while providing relevant societal
context.
6 Steps of Social Justice Curriculum
The Individual
Within the confines of this methodology, the sequential nature of the curriculum begins
with the individual. The students must dive deep into their historical backgrounds, including
heritage, religion, ethnicity, and gender, in order to develop their sense of self and worth,
within the context of self-awareness. Williams and Greenleaf (2012) discuss students
interaction with their own environment as their personal niche and adds that an individual
cannot be understood apart from the multifaceted context of his or her environment (p. 8).
Essentially, before they have the ability to actively understand other parties, they must first
understand themselves by studying their personal identity and history. Through the lens of
historical inquiry, students are looking for discernible facts, rather than assumptions and
stereotypes, which may be inappropriately attributed to a particular gender, sexual, cultural,
ethnic, or racial group. Indeed, going through the process of critical inquiry enables students
to deconstruct negative stereotypes and racist constructions (Picower, 2012b, p.5) of their
own identities, and opens their eyes to the possibility that negative features they have heard
about identities may not be rooted in history.
Others
Critical inquiry allows an increased respect between individuals, leading to students
gaining respect for each other and themselves. Students should be encouraged to share about

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their selves, and given the opportunity to learn about their classmates. Through this
engagement, students are prompted to see the ways they are unique, but also how they
overlap (Picower, 2012b, p. 7). Students can begin to realize that someone that looks so
different from them may have more similarities than they thought, and they can begin to
respect their allies. It is important to develop a mutual respect between students who come
from different backgrounds and possess different characteristics, in order to create community
or cross cultural empathy (Picower, 2012b, p. 7). Upon building this caring relationship,
students begin to understand where others come from, how that has shaped them to be who
they are, as well as how to recognize the shared struggles against oppression (Picower,
2012b. p.8). As students start to realize they share oppression, and want to work towards
ending it, empathy and caring relationships are important. In their explanation of the social
justice curriculum and stepping outside of comfort zones, Zembylas and McGlynn (2012)
discuss these relationships as necessary to provide a safe place for students to examine,
challenge, and change their cherished beliefs and assumptions (p.3). Students need to feel
safe as they are confronting topics that may not be commonplace for them, and may be
stepping outside of set boundaries. Students need to have the relationships with each other in
which they can speak, listen, and confront each other appropriately. Zembylas and McGlynn
(2012) also include in this relationship the idea that all children are emotionally and
intellectually supported by one another (p. 16). They must feel comfortable and confident in
their classroom community.

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Injustice and History

This relationship is crucial when diving into the next step in the social justice
curriculum. During this step, students and teachers immerse themselves in social injustice.
Starting with history and current events of social injustice, as well as events in the classroom
and community, students look at how diversity can be experienced as oppression, and how
this can impact groups (Picower, 2012b, p. 8). Students need to learn through a variety of
sources and see the roots that stem oppression to better understand why it happens, why it
affects people, and the way it does so. To get a full effect from this education, children must
experience some degree of injustice in order to fully empathize with those who are subject to
it (Zembylas & McGlynn, 2012, p. 10). According to Zembylas and McGlynn (2012),
students need to move outside of their comfort zones so discomforting emotions can play a
constructive role in challenging dominant beliefs (p. 10). Thro ugh viewing the cold hard
facts of injustice, discomfort is sparked which will cause students to take action against what
they question in the world (Picower, 2012a, p. 7), which is inevitably the final step in this
curriculum.
Justice and Social Change
Step three dwells on the negative elements of oppression and can spark discomforting
emotions and feelings of hopelessness. The curriculum now moves to the positive effects that
oppression and injustice can serve, and informs children things dont have to be this way,
unfair conditions can be changed, and students can be the change (Picower, 2012b, p.10).
This step focuses on the social movements and changes that have been made in the past, and
continue to be made today. Picower (2012b) suggests that it is important to stress to the

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students not only the heroes and leaders of the movements, but also the everyday people who
stood together to make a change (p. 10). Showing students people they can relate to can prove
to children that they can be the change they wish to see, just as their models did in the past
(Picower, 2012b, p.10). This step serves as the building block for the rest of the curriculum
and shows students they have a chance to make a change, and they should take it.
Awareness
As ideas for change have been sparked, the next step involves students getting their
ideas vocalized. Students want to share their ideas if they are passionate about them, and they
can see if other people respond with the same ideas . By getting people on their teams, with
similar ideals, students can realize that you dont have to have a mass movement to create
change and they can flourish in their ability to start small and work towards something
greater (Picower, 2012b, p. 11). According to Picower (2012b), students can gain a sense of
empowerment through sharing their own voice (p.11). Williams and Greenleaf (2012) have
backed this idea by their findings indicating, people have an innate and powerful desire to
shape their environments and leave tangible signs demonstrating their effectiveness both to
themselves and to others (p. 8). Human growth and development indicates that people want to
make changes and affect their environment and this can form a foundation for mental health
and personal growth (Williams & Greenleaf, 2012, p.8). Those who demonstrate personal
effectiveness understand their environment, feel confident in their relationship with it, and
want to positively affect it. This step in the curriculum takes these biological features and
brings them to work by spreading news and ideas, and eventually working towards an end
goal; change.

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Action
The final step in teaching a social justice-oriented curriculum is action. Students will
experience what is means to struggle against injustice, and will engage in social actions
themselves. Students should be developing their own ideas about what is fair and what is not,
and ultimately understand they can do something about it. This part of the curriculum puts the
students in the battlefield, fighting for their beliefs. It is the teachers job to prepare them for
battle by equipping them with skills to identify, analyze and understand how external barriers
and internalized oppression (Williams & Greenleaf, 2012, p. 9) may inhibit their selfeffectiveness within their communities. Williams and Greenleaf (2012) also indicate that
teachers must help students gain access to needed resources, identify potential allies, build a
platform for support and design, and implement action plans for confronting environmental
barriers (p. 10). It is the students chance to stand up for what they believe in after all the
social justice elements that they have learned.
Assessments, Reflection, and Follow Up
We will use authentic and project based assessments to measure student growth. These
assessments will be specific and differentiated based on each lesson and will reflect the strengths,
interests, and abilities of the students. These may take the form of a discussion, a journal, a
presentation, or other means of expression. Standardized tests and other summative assessments
will also be used for their original and intended purpose to serve as guidelines for teachers to
differentiate instruction within the classroom, without being tied to funding and teacher
evaluation.

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As for assessment of the curriculum itself, a quarterly checkup or meeting will be held for
teachers and school administration to discuss and reflect upon the overall curriculum and how it
is progressing. Surveys will go out at the end of each quarter in order to receive feedback from
teachers, administrators, and students and adjustments will be made accordingly during the
quarter meeting. An overall curriculum meeting will occur at the end of the year to reflect upon
the adequate yearly progress, as well as concerns and issues within the curriculum. We want our
curriculum to be fluid, rather than set in stone with a rigid structure. Staff and administration
should be open and willing to reflect upon the practices of the curriculum in order to protect the
students needs and interests as well as promote a democratic and progressivist learning
experience.

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Picower, B. (2012a). Teacher Activism: Enacting a Vision for Social Justice. Equity &
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