“They Should Be Allowed to Live in a Safe Place Like Us”: Social Justice in the Social Studies Classroom

Today’s students are in charge of all aspects of the future; they must be taught how to challenge issues of oppression in order to model to the world just, appropriate behavior. This teaching and learning takes place within the social studies classroom. Through my self-study, I examined ways to go beyond the standard social studies curriculum by teaching with a framework of social justice. Social justice is defined as a view that respects each individual, and each individual’s cultural and academic uniqueness, rights, and importance in the global world. I collected data from individual student journals, conversations with and between students in my field journal, sample student work, and lesson plans. After examining my data using various scrutiny techniques described by Ryan & Bernard (2003), I discovered that elementary students are able to make personal connections to the global world and feel empathy for oppressed groups, if they are able to discuss these emotions in a safe environment using terminology consistent with their age level