Rethinking Social Justice in Education: An Epistemological Approach

There are many different notions of social justice in education. For example, some argue that social justice in education means giving individuals the opportunity to succeed; for others, it means seeking equality of outcome so that everyone does succeed. So great is the diversity of views that it has been suggested the term has become meaningless, or that it can mean anything people want it to mean. This has led some to argue that trying to define social justice in education is a hopeless task. This chapter argues that an approach informed by the later philosophy of Wittgenstein can be helpful in dealing with such issues. In particular, attention is focussed on Wittgenstein’s epistemology and theory of meaning in the Philosophical Investigations. It is argued that these are helpful in understanding the multiplicity of meanings of the term social justice in education. This multiplicity however, it is argued, does not lead to a situation where the term can mean anything its users want it to mean. Nor does it lead to a situation where all attempts to define the term are ruled out, or where only one definition is acceptable, presumably to be imposed on all users of the term. Instead, the significance of contextual understanding and meaning in different language-games is highlighted. Wittgenstein’s theory of meaning is then allied to Gallie’s notion of an essentially contested concept to advance the idea of engagement between those with different views, and of the need to recontextualize rather than decontextualize the notion of social justice in education

Models of police probationer career progression: Preconceptions of the psychological contract

This paper discusses findings that suggest disparity between supervisors' and police probationers' models of expected career advancement. Probationer police officers (n=163) from a north-west constabulary and their immediate supervisors were asked to comment on their expectations of each probationer's likely hierarchical advancement within the police force. A number of variables were examined in order to establish which variables, for probationers and their supervisors, predicted expected career advancement. These data suggest disparity between the probationers' model of expected career advancement and that of their supervisors such that probationers regard educational qualifications as most likely to predict future career advancement while supervisors regard the problem-solving skills of probationers as being predictive of career advancement. Specifically it is argued that the probationers appear to operate a rational model of career advancement that is based on the recognition of human capital or 'universals' (Smith 1994) such as qualifications and overall performance at assessment. Supervisors, on the other hand, appear to value 'relational' and 'occupational' (Smith 1994) competencies for predicting career advancement of probationers under their supervision. This disparity is considered in relation to the establishment and maintenance of a coherent psychological contract (Herriot 1992)

Users' reactions to information technology: some multivariate models and their implications

We summarize empirical work examining the impact on users of information technology (IT) and identify some gaps in current knowledge. We outline some alternative multivariate models of users' reactions to IT, describe an initial empirical test of this work and argue the need for the specification of multivariate models to guide further empirical, theoretical and practical developments. In particular we argue that models of this kind can be used as aids in managing the development, implementation and use of IT

Living the punk life in Green Bay, Wisconsin: exploring contradiction in the music of NOFX

This paper studies song lyrics from three mid-period songs written and performed by Californian punk band NOFX. I discuss NOFX’s skilful exploration of contradiction in the three selected songs, two of which are character studies of a single young male individual. The questions that the songs pose in true dialectical fashion (but do not definitively answer) include: Is it possible to maintain the carefree existential existence of the archetypal punk rocker in the face of the constraints imposed by suburban life and the voices of middle-class moderation? Can a Jewish gang in Fairfax, Los Angeles simultaneously affirm group self-identity, defend its turf, and practise its (marginalized) religion? Can a young man enjoy Christianity because it makes his life ‘seem less insane’ whilst simultaneously taking control of his life and not being a Christian sheep? NOFX poses these questions in admirable dialectical fashion, allows us to reflexively examine the issues involved, and form our own conclusions. The band rarely descends into moralism but moral values underpin NOFX’s worldview. Above all, NOFX tries to maintain a sophisticated but precarious ‘both/and’ rather than ‘either/or’ approach to each one of the questions posed in this abstract. Clever lyrics, which highlight the contradictions that a punk rocker must face whilst living in suburban America, have become one of the band’s most loved and most enduring themes