Mandana Arfa-Kaboodvand holds a PhD in TESOL from the University of Exeter, UK. She has worked as a language teacher, university lecturer and teacher trainer for more than 30 years in Iran, Uzbekistan and Eswatini. Her main research interests include language teacher education, language teaching and culture, and EAP. Email address: m_arfa@yahoo.com

 

Introduction

Multiculturalism, attention to human rights and concerns about their violation, and in general, many concepts relating to globalization seem to be contributing to the inclusion of social justice issues in the curriculum of many modern classes, at least in some parts of the world. Inequity and social injustice in any shape and form, including injustice done to women, people with disabilities, some ethnic groups, people with different sexual orientations and some races, are among these topics. The global citizens of the modern world are encouraged to reflect and act upon these issues.

Modern education celebrates diversity and inclusivity (Rashid & Tikly 2010); therefore, teachers can be considered among those responsible for helping, particularly the students, to create and heighten awareness about diversity and adhere to it. Creating this awareness may lead their students to take steps to contribute to helping at least one part of the world at a time. Not surprisingly, then including social justice in the curriculum of the modern language classroom is gaining more and more attention again, in at least some parts of the world. Language teachers in modern language classrooms are to encourage communication, cultural awareness, and at the same time, promote critical thinking among the other relevant topics. (Cottrell 2005; Kabilan 2000) This responsibility can be partly due to the nature of the communicative language lessons that are geared towards communication which is a social event (Hall 2011), and language being a medium for thinking. The committed language teachers then may encourage their students to discuss and practise social justice more than teachers of other subjects. However, the reality can be much more complicated in some classes.

This paper analyses the likely problems and challenges different stakeholders may encounter when and if trying to incorporate certain social justice-related issues in their classes. Some of the issues raised are inspired by first-hand observation and experience. The paper then reports the findings of a study conducted regarding the beliefs and challenges that the language teachers teaching in different parts of the world have or may have when including some topics relevant to social justice. 

 

Literature review

‘At its best, social work stands for the creation of a society in which people individually and in community, can live decent lives and realize their full human potential’ (Reisch 2002: 351). On the other hand, Oxfam guidebook (2018: 3) on teaching about controversial issues (2018: 3) clarifies that these issues ‘evoke strong feelings and affect the social, cultural and environmental context in which people live’, and points out that they can ‘arise at a range of scales affecting local, national and global communities’. The guidebook sees the need for young people to ‘explore their values’ and classrooms are considered safe places for them to understand and evaluate these values. However, even though social justice topics are universal, the ways to approach them may vary even in the educational contexts and language classes. Kumaravadivelu (2012:15) points out ‘context-sensitive teaching’ and opposes pre-selected procedures for modern language classes. He encourages autonomous teaching and believes in developing language teacher education programs that are based on ‘a true understanding of local linguistic, socio-cultural and political particularities’. This suggestion makes perfect sense for social justice and how it should be promoted in classes across the globe. Then again, critical approaches to language learning, see language as ‘a practice that constructs and is constructed by, the ways language learners understand themselves, their social surroundings and their possibilities for the future’ (Norton and Toohey 2004:1). Therefore, creating an environment for the students to search for their identities and gain a better understanding of their surroundings may solve many of these issues. Logically, then, any responsible citizen who has some understanding of human rights and social justice is supposed to be accountable for both the practice and promotion of the relevant principles. As alarming as it might sound, in some societies, this is far from possible. Besides, specifically in the classroom, raising the topics and any intervention can also create risks even on the topics that seem to be trivial, such as the right to choose your job or even your clothes. Accordingly, the term ‘do no harm’, borrowed from medical interventions, has found its way in social aid and has been adopted in the current context. 

‘DNH (Do no harm) is an expression that speaks for itself and helps advance thinking on the negative effects of aid.’ (Bonis Charancle and Lucchi 2018: 5)

• "Do no harm" is to avoid exposing people to additional risks through our actions.
• "Do no harm" means taking a step back from an intervention to look at the broader context and mitigate potential negative effects on the social fabric, the economy, and the environment. (Ibid: 9)

All in all, even though trying to create equity and freedom are social obligations for all, and teachers are also responsible for promoting them, many issues are sensitive and should be approached carefully. 

 

Challenges posed when teaching social justice-related-issues

Including certain sensitive social justice topics in language lessons, can have serious consequences for some teachers in some parts of the world. These topics can be but are not limited to homosexuality and sexual orientations; rights of genders, certain ethnic or religious groups and particular races; people with disabilities, and some topics that can be linked to politics, traditions, religion and economy of a particular country or group. They can stem from different roots and lead to some undesired challenges or consequences. Here are a few of these undesirable consequences, many of which I have witnessed.

 

Challenges for teachers

Firstly, not all teachers are well-aware of and updated about all the issues relating to social justice and how to teach it. And some may even have prejudices against some of the issues. These teachers raising these topics in their classes may be counterproductive, as they may be imposing their own opinion and misleading their students. On the other hand, some teachers, although not prejudiced, may not feel comfortable discussing some of the issues in their classes. This discomfort may be due to their own upbringing or beliefs. It might also happen that they would feel unwelcome or even threatened by the community they are teaching in. 

Moreover, in some countries, teachers can be severely punished if they raise certain issues that are considered sensitive in their communities. Some of these topics, such as the right to choose your attire or when and what to eat, may seem uncomplicated and basic for many; however, they may still pose threats to teachers who raise them in some parts of the world. Teachers who choose to discuss them may lose their job or face harsh punishments. 

At the same time, even in more flexible communities and with progressive teachers, teachers still should know how to raise particular issues and how to create awareness so as not to unintentionally offend anyone or make the situation worse. (Sometimes, not saying anything can be better than creating an undesirable situation.) The teacher may lose the trust of the community at the very least.

Finally, there may be a theoretical challenge. As Kavanagh (2017:165) puts it, ‘We are so unclear about what it is to teach for social justice.’

 

Challenges for the students

Another aspect to consider when dealing with issues relating to social justice is to take the best interest of the students into account.

Sometimes raising certain issues may result in undesired conflicts within the families and communities of the students. Some of these beliefs, although seemingly against human rights, may not necessarily inflict any harm on those people or communities. Raising them may lead to serious, but sometimes preventable disagreements and encounters. For instance, if in a community it is agreed that girls and not boys should do the cooking or engage in other house chores, raising the issue of women’s rights in this particular regard and in some cases encouraging women not to do so, may not make anyone happier or even more equal at a given time.

Secondly, creating this kind of awareness may be harmful to the future of the young ones. Well-meaning teachers may encourage their students to pursue those of their dreams that are considered less conventional in their communities, such as going after their favourite jobs. This encouragement can lead to problems for the students in the future, as upon following their dreams, students may be abandoned by the community or their parents. They may not be able to support themselves in the future or have the kind of life they envisage.

Thirdly, sometimes avoidable conflicts within the classes and among classmates can also arise upon discussing some topics. For example, politically, some nations or ethnic groups do not mingle, but the students of different nationalities may be happily sitting in the same classes. The situation can change if the topic is raised and extensively explored within the class.

 

Challenges for parents 

Parents, particularly of the younger learners, are among the other groups who might suffer if some issues that are against the values of their communities are discussed in their children’s classes.

Firstly, if their children raise the topics discussed in the classes at home, their parents may not know how to act on some of these questions or issues. Secondly, they may be more traditional, uninformed or even against some of the topics, and may either try to punish their children and/ or the teacher. They may feel angry, frustrated, or helpless and at times react to these feelings.

 

The study

The current study was inspired by my attending two one-day workshops on social justice organized by IATEFL pre-conference events in 2018 and 2019, and my observations and thoughts on the topics due to being brought up in the Middle East and having taught in that region, in Central Asia and Southern Africa. The study conducted aimed at examining the beliefs of language teachers in different parts of the world about the inclusion of some social justice issues in their classes. 

The research questions were:

RQ1: What do language teachers think about including certain topics related to social justice in their classes?

RQ2: Are the thought patterns about teaching about social justice in language classes similar among the language teachers working in different contexts?

 

Method

A questionnaire was designed and sent to language teachers teaching in different parts of the world. (Table 2) The questionnaire consisted of 12 questions seeking a better understanding of the teachers’ working contexts and then unveiling the beliefs and constraints (if any) of teaching about social justice in their language classes. The respondents could select their answers from the options provided, and for each question, they had the opportunity to elaborate, add comments or their points. 125 people language teachers took part in the study.

The issues included were:

• the teachers’ background and context of teaching,
• their opinion about including social justice-related-issues in their classes,
• their choices of social justice topics to be included in their classes,
• the reasons why they had chosen to include or not include some topics,
• their training on handling social justice issues in their classes.

 

Findings

Demographic information about the sample population

125 language teachers, teacher trainers, and educators filled in the questionnaires. Most of the teachers were teaching in Central Asia (54), Europe (41) and the Middle East (17). The other participants were from North America and Canada (7); Central and South America (2); South Asia (2); the Far East (2); Eastern Europe (2); Africa (1) and Oceania (1). Their teaching experience varied from six months to 31 years. The majority taught in the public sector. 60 taught at university; 38 were teacher trainers and educators; 48 taught at secondary school; 7 taught at primary school, and 18 taught in private language institutions. (Some of the respondents worked in more than one organisation and taught in more than one level.) 108 taught English as a foreign language in a non-English speaking country, while nine taught it in an English-speaking context. 23 taught subjects related to language and language teaching. Six teachers taught in rural areas, and the rest taught in towns and cities.

 

Results

Answering the question regarding whether they believed that social justice issues should be included in their classes and teacher training sessions; six of the respondents (five per cent) disagreed and strongly disagreed, while more than 58 per cent just agreed and 16 per cent strongly agreed that they should be included. About 21 per cent were neutral. 

In the questionnaire, nine relevant topics were inquired about. (Table 1) Two of the respondents would not consider including any of them.

Topics	Teachers’ willingness
	No.	%
Environment	113	90
Gender equality	95	76
Wealth distribution and poverty	88	70
Racial discrimination	84	67
The rights of people with disabilities	83	66
Women’s rights	82	66
Animal rights	75	60
Death penalty	57	46
Homosexuality and sexual orientation	44	35

Table 1 Teacher’s willingness to include social justice topics in their classes

As can be seen in table 1, more than 90 per cent of the respondents would include environmental issues in their classes.

Context of teaching	Social Justice topics	Homosexuality and gender issues		Women’s rights		Gender Equality		Rights of people with Disability		Racial discrimination
	Number	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
	Western Europe	28	11	31	7	33	7	29	10	33	6
	Eastern Europe	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	0	2	0
	Middle East	4	13	9	8	13	4	12	5	10	7
	Central Asia	7	47	31	23	37	17	29	25	30	24
	The Far East	0	2	1	1	2	0	2	0	2	0
	North America and Canada	4	3	5	2	6	1	5	2	5	2
	Central and South America	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	1
	Africa	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	1
	Oceania	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	South Asia	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
	TOTAL	44	81	82	42	82	43	82	43	84	41

Table 2 Teachers’ willingness to include certain social justice-related topics in their classes based on their context of teaching

When asked whether they had received any training regarding social justice, 72 people had not had the opportunity for any training; 24 were self-taught, and only 27 had received training. Two had had the opportunity, but had not opted for it. Out of the 27 people who received the training 11 lived in Western Europe. (Table 3)

Context of teaching
	Training	Yes	No (Had the opportunity)	No (Had no opportunity)	Self- taught	Total
	Western Europe, Eastern Europe North America and Canada	11	2	24	11	48
	Middle East and Central Asia	16	0	44	11	71
	The Far East, Central and South America, Africa, Oceania, South Asia	0	0	4	2	6
	TOTAL	27	2	72	24	125

Table 3 Teacher’s training on social justice-related-issues

The questions that followed were about why they would consider including the topics of their choice in their classes. 71 (56 per cent) personally believed in the importance of the issues and had strong feelings about them, while 47 (38 per cent) would include them, despite not having any strong feelings about them. 12 (10 per cent) would only teach them because they were included in the syllabus. 69 (55 per cent) believed that their students would find them interesting, and seven (six per cent) would only discuss them in their classes if they were brought up by their students.

30 respondents would teach all the topics in their classes. The rest had some reservations about some or even all of them. The most common responses to the question regarding why they would not consider including some of the topics were that some topics were culturally inappropriate, punishable, irrelevant to the context or inappropriate for the age group they were teaching. (Table 4)

Reasons	No	%
They are culturally inappropriate in the context that I work in.	49	39
I do not think they are relevant to the context I teach.	25	20
I think they would result in conflict in my classes.	20	16
I might be punished or blamed.	16	13
I am worried that discussing these topics may have damaging consequences for my students.	15	12
I assume they are not appropriate for the age groups that I am working with.	16	13
I believe my students will find them uninteresting.	8	7
I do not think they can help my students.	8	7
I would not want to share my opinion.	7	6
I would not want to share my opinion.	7	6
I am against them myself.	6	5
I do not know much about them.	3	2
I do not care about them.	3	2
I do not think they are related to social justice.	2	1.5
I do not see myself in the position to affect the lives of my students.	1	1

Table 4 Teachers’ reasons not to include certain topics relating to social justice in their syllabus

 

All in all: 

• Not all teachers are ready and willing to discuss some of the issues regarding social justice in their classes due to their own beliefs.
• Some topics seem to be culturally or politically unacceptable and/or challenging for the teachers; and are, therefore, avoided by some.
• Teachers in different contexts have different views regarding dealing with some topics relating to social issues.
• Teachers in different contexts have different experiences and opportunities to discuss social justice.
• The least preferred topic of discussion among the topics in the questionnaire is the rights of people with different sexual orientations.
• The attitudes and/or the challenges of teachers in some countries (in this study, countries in West Europe) are less judgemental compared to some others.
• Most teachers have not received any formal training on how to approach social justice-related issues in their classes.

 

Discussion

Social justice should make the world a better place, and within a framework make most people happier, which may be the most important reason that it should be promoted. If that cannot be achieved with the practices at hand, then new ways should be sought. ‘Our quest should not be for a perfectly just society, for this is impossible. Rather, the goal should be to remove manifestly unjustified inequalities’ (Boston 2013: 71). The opportunity to learn a language, in particular English, can in itself be an exceptionally powerful way to create equity. Upon having learned the language efficiently, the learners will be empowered to make better decisions, as they will have more access to information and a wider scope of knowledge to compare and contrast cultures and beliefs. Therefore, the main objective of a language class should be helping the learners learn the language and preparing them for whatever reason the students have for learning it. Social justice topics, whenever possible, can be topics to help with the better learning of the language and the concept of culture and a means to an end. When language teachers for some reason cannot directly tackle some issues relating to social justice, still their help to better develop their students’ foreign language proficiency, ability to think critically and access knowledge can make a significant difference. This may mean that the students will have the opportunity for finding their own paths. Besides, many of the respondents to the questionnaire had not received any training to discuss social justice issues in their classes. If they discuss them, they may do more harm than good.

As pointed out earlier, when including issues relating to social justice as part of the class activities, accepting the importance of contextual awareness is vital. Also, the teachers need to have a clear understanding of their role as educators. Cochran-Smith et al. (2009: 5) highlight the importance of the way teachers ‘think about their work and interpret what is going on in schools and classrooms’ when it comes to teaching practice and social justice. Many teachers in the current study did not share the same understanding of social justice and their role in promoting it.

In addition, a committed teacher at work is better than one out of work. In response to filling in the questionnaire for the current study, although anonymity had been promised, out of more than 300 people in the Middle East who had been invited to fill in the questionnaire, only 17 did. This example may manifest the sensitivity of the issues in some regions and may demonstrate that much more has to be done in this regard. Rushing the process may not lead to the desired effect.

Another point to think about is that teaching is a job after all. Teachers mostly choose it to earn their living. Having unrealistic expectations from them is not fair. Once again, as the data collected here shows, many teachers have not received any training to deal with the issues relating to social justice. It seems unfair to expect them to address the issues and do a good job. They need to be trained, supported and reminded that they need to respect social justice even if they have concerns and reservations regarding some of the issues.

Finally, most of the studies have addressed the people living in developed countries. Even though challenges do exist in those countries, not all are necessarily similar to the other parts of the world. Many more studies are still needed. 

 

Recommendations and conclusions

When considering including social justice and global issues in language classes, besides having clear criteria for what social justice education means, well-designed teacher training programs to train and support teachers in this regard are necessary. The points to include and consider may be: 

• reminding the teachers not to forget to teach the language 
• helping teachers and teacher trainers around the world to have more tolerance towards beliefs other than theirs and diversity
• helping teachers cope with challenges of including social justice issues in their classes
• highlighting the fact that no one way fits all contexts
• providing training for teachers to help them help parents and communities better understand the concepts related to social justice
• helping teachers understand the potential dangers/risks of including some of the topics in some of the classes and contexts (concepts of practicality and possibility)
• helping students and teachers learn to think critically
• encouraging teachers to practise social justice themselves whenever and wherever possible
• encouraging teachers to teach empathy, love, and respect more than anything else. These topics seem to be universal.
•  Assigning mentors with whom to consult or having discussion groups with their colleagues to guide and support when necessary.

These suggestions may all change if there is any immediate danger to a person within the community due to the violation of social justice.

Ideas do not come out of a vacuum. They are shaped by social forces. The attitudes of teachers and educationalists should be directed towards the right path through training and support. The necessity to respect human beings, human rights and social justice is universal; however, the ways to demand and promote them vary from community to community, time to time, and generation to generation. Some actions can have irreversible and unintended consequences for individuals and societies. Teachers should not try to promote topics that may harm them or their students in any way. Teachers should learn to try their best to do no harm, even with the best intentions: no harm to themselves, if and where possible, and no harm to the society in which they are working. Teaching empathy, respect, and thinking can make a profound difference. 

 

References

Bonis Charancle, J.M and Lucchi, E. 2018. ‘Incorporating the principle of “Do No Harm”: How to take action without causing harm Reflections on a review of Humanity & Inclusion’s practices’ https://www.alnap.org/system/files/content/resource/files/main/donoharm_pe07_synthesis.pdf

Boston, J. 2013. ‘What kind of equality matters? Inequality: A New Zealand crisis’. M. Rashbrooke. Wellington, NZ, Bridget Williams Books: 70-86.

Cochran-Smith, M., Shakman, K., Jong, C., Terrell, D. G., Barnatt, J., & McQuillan, P. (2009). Good and just teaching: The case for social justice in teacher education. American Journal of Education, 115(3), 347-377.

Cotrell, S. 2005. ‘Critical thinking skills: Developing effective analysis and argument’. Palgrave Macmillan.

Hall, G. 2011. ‘Exploring English language teaching: Language in action’. Taylor & Francis.

Kabilan, M. K. 2000. ‘Creative and critical thinking in language classrooms.’ The Internet TESL Journal, 6(6), 1-3.

Kavanagh, S. S. 2017. ‘Practicing social justice: Toward a practice-based approach to learning to teach for social justice. In Reflective theory and practice in teacher education’. (pp. 161-175). Springer, Singapore.

Kumaravadivelu, B. 2012. ‘Language teacher education for a global society: A modular model for knowing, analyzing, recognizing, doing, and seeing.’ Routledge.

Norton, B., & Toohey, K. 2004. ‘Critical pedagogies and language learning’. Ernst Klett Sprachen.

Oxfam. ‘Teaching Controversial Issues: A guide for teachers’. 2018. https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/620473/gd-teaching-controversial-issues-290418-en.pdf?sequence=1

Rashid, N; Tikly L 2010. ‘Inclusion and Diversity in Education: Guidelines for Inclusion and Diversity in Schools.

British council https://www.britishcouncil.es/sites/default/files/british-council-guidelines-for-inclusion-and-diversity-in-schools.pdf

Reisch, M. 2002. ‘Defining social justice in a socially unjust world’, Families in Society’. 83(4), 343-354.

 

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