Affiliation:
1. University of Houston-Downtown, USA
2. Concordia University, Chicago, USA
Abstract
The inequality and discrimination on race, ethnicity, social class, language use, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and culture have contributed to social justice issues in the U.S. for years. Creating an inclusive, respectful, and equitable learning environment is critical for both teachers and students in K-12 education. Do K-12 teachers understand the meaning and the importance of social justice? How will they incorporate social justice into their teaching? The goal of this chapter was to explore 34 teacher candidates' perspectives on social justice and their plans to implement social justice in teaching in the future. Significant emergent themes from the findings regarding the definitions and the implementation of social justice in teaching were presented. Recommendations for educators and future researchers were included.