Territorial Inequalities in Education under the Light of Spatial Justice

International audienceStudying Spatial Justice is studying the consequences of the organization of space in terms of social justice and injustices, as well as the consequences of the social injustices on the organization of space. The notion of Spatial Justice, developed by Anglophone radical Geographers in the 1970’s, is today mobilized in different contexts, mostly in Urban Studies and in Planning. After presenting very quickly a few elements of its theoretical background in planning, we will try to elaborate on its implications to question the territorial dimensions of Education Policies. Education Policies, from their global conception to their local application, confront Territorial Inequalities as a Major Issue. Is the function of public policies (planning, management…) in Education to establish spatial equity? Is their aim to treat all spaces equally? Is a “just” Education policy a policy which rebalances spatial inequalities, through some forms of positive discrimination? Or, should “just” education policies be non-interventionist and adapt to the spatial and social dynamics of the population, without confronting them? This could question the validity of the territorialisation of public policies itself.If we question universalised claims to justice, is it still possible or even desirable to build “just” and stable spatial structures in education matters? But, even if they can prove illusory, aren’t the territorialized images of the actions aiming towards justice in education a requirement of any action? Alternatively, the tendencies are more and more to focus on ways to establish flexible regulation, with the aim of reducing spatial injustice in a responsive and context driven manner, without privileging any particular (utopian) spatial pattern. That is to say the importance of the evaluation of public policies to fight against territorialized education inequalities