Definition of Social Justice Education
Social justice education is resistance work rooted in joy (Johnson, 2019), social imagination, (Greene, 1995; Giroux, 2010), and hope (Freire, 1994; SooHoo, 2018; Shenk, 2013; Birmingham, 2009) which is built upon the confluence of multiple voices and perspectives in pursuit of a better world. Social justice education is rooted in humanizing liberation work (Giroux, 2010); it is hopeful and visionary while also operating in concrete reality (Freire, 1972). These spaces open possibilities for a more socially just world (Giroux, 2017), and classrooms should function as places where these ideas can materialize and educators can attempt to “live part of their dreams within their educational space” (Freire & Macedo, 1987). Teachers can function as “agents of transformation” (Bigelow, 1990) through engaged pedagogy (hooks, 1994) and pedagogies of love (Freire, 1972; Darder, 2017) to provide spaces where critical consciousness (Freire, 1972) can emerge. Through intertwining engaged pedagogy and pedagogies of love, spaces of critical consciousness can be generated. These spaces are humanizing, democratic, visionary, and participatory.