DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 1

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

Incorporating Social Justice Project Based Learning
Jessica M. Buckle
California State University, San Bernardino
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 2

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

Incorporating Social Justice Project Based Learning
It was March of my second year of teaching when I was called into the principal’s office

for what I assumed was my observation review. In this meeting, our new principal let me know

without any reasoning or rationale that I would not be invited back to teach at that school the

following year. This was despite being very involved in the campus community, loved by my

colleagues and students, having never received a poor performance review or corrective action,

and taking on extra responsibilities like WASC focus group leader and Tech TOSA. At the time

it shattered my heart into a million pieces. How could I not take it personally? It felt as if I was

being told I was not good enough as I had poured everything I was and had into my position.

Looking back, this was just another hardship in my life that made me even stronger and better

able to help my students. I did not quit but in fact strengthened my resolve to work harder and be

better. I threw myself into even more professional development and it was at one such event that

the trajectory of my teaching career would be changed forever.

At a conference session led by a middle school history teacher about Project Soapbox that

is conducted by the Mikva Challenge, he told us a quote he had heard that impacted him and

subsequently changed the way I taught, “Students are not apathetic, they are uninvited.” It is easy

to assume students, especially high school students in my case, do not care about anything but

cellphones and social media. This is how they are portrayed, and it is an assumption easy to

accept and not challenge. However, what if we did challenge it? What if students do care about

what is happening in their communities, but in the way our current school systems are set up, we

are not allowing them to explore or voice those concerns? What would happen if we asked them

what they were concerned or passionate about? What if we could tie those concerns and passions
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 3

to content? What if, instead of preparing students to be active participants in society in the future,

we helped them be active now?

The Focus of My Study

For my dissertation I would like to focus on these questions and demonstrating what

happens when we do create educational opportunities like these. The goal of my teaching the last

two years has been to invite students to the table; to give them choice and voice in what they

learn and how they demonstrate that learning as well as finding ways to tie in the concerns and

passions that students have. I start by asking students what they are proud about their school and

their community, what they are concerned about in regards to their school or their community,

how we might address these problems, and what they believe their school or community would

look like if these issues were changed. From there I find ways to tie their concerns, interests, and

passions into the content we are studying.

To give you an idea of what that looks like I will give you a couple examples as they

pertain to social science classes. In Government students looked at how change is made in the

government at the federal, state, and local levels. Students then conducted interviews with

women of color who had made an impact in their communities through politics or activism

because it is important to highlight the everyday people that make a difference, not just the

exceptional people who make it into history books. In Economics students created viable small

businesses where they had to create a business plan and a pitch in order to get a real ten-dollar

investment with the goal of turning that ten dollars into as much profit as possible. The original

goal was to donate the profits to Pencils of Promise, which builds schools in third world

countries, but after learning about a senior at our school being diagnosed with cancer I asked if

students would be willing to donate the money to his family during this hard time and they

emphatically supported that decision. In World History after learning about different genocides
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 4

past and present around the world, students created a human rights campaign and chose a human

rights violation to research and bring attention to. They had to use at least three mediums in their

campaign which included things like social media polls and posts, videos, flyers, posters, and

speaking in front of their other classes on things like human trafficking, equality, women’s

rights, and child soldiers. In U.S. History in conjunction with learning about the Great

Depression and the photographers of that time like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, who used

photography to raise awareness about what was happening, students created their own art

installations around a social issue they wanted to raise awareness about. Students were allowed

to use any medium they wanted and the mediums they chose ranged from drawing to painting to

photography to sculpture to creating original scores of music and brought awareness to issues

like violence against women, global warming, pollution, Black Lives Matter, police brutality,

and child abuse.

The guiding question that I would like to focus my dissertation around is: How does

project based learning with a social justice focus affect engagement? I know the answer to this

question regarding my own classroom, but I want to conduct a study that will hopefully inspire

other teachers and one day even districts to adapt this kind of learning into their curriculum. I

have seen a marked increase in engagement, longer retention of information, the ability to make

deeper connections, the ability to engage in more rigorous learning, and an empowerment in my

students. I know this is vital if we want to change the educational system, which I believe is an

absolute must for the betterment of our students and our society. Schools are providing a

disservice to students as they are operating the same way they have been since the industrial

revolution and falling into the assumption that students are apathetic.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 5

Why It’s Important

There has been a historic struggle for people of color in challenging racism,

discrimination, oppression, and the systems in place that perpetuate inequality. Even within these

communities we must consider the intersectionality of identity and realize that there has been a

struggle among people of color in terms of gender, class, sexuality, religion, and ability. Critical

Race Theory examines the persistence of these systems of inequity and racism in structures like

law, policies, education, and other institutions that have been designed to protect the

accumulation of white wealth. CRT allows us to critique racial injustice and begin to focus on

debunking the great myth that everything orbits around heterosexual white men. Authentic

equity does not prioritize race, gender, or sexuality but rather centralizes love and values the

knowledge and experience of all individuals. This is what diversity and equity mean. It is

systematic change and the seeking of justice for our diverse population, whether it's based on

external factors like race/ethnic background or internal factors like religion or sexuality. It is

through this analysis of Critical Race Theory that we can finally begin to embrace diversity and

equity and emancipate people from the chains that bind them. 

The educational system is one of the systems that has been set up to protect the

accumulation of white wealth, knowledge, and power. We have been operating in a state of

subtractive schooling where we have systematically stripped students of minority groups of their

language, culture, and academic well-being with the intentions of assimilating them into the

dominant group. You need look no further than Native American boarding schools to prove this

point. Children were torn from their families and thrust into these schools, their hair was cut, and

all traditional or tribal clothing, traditions, and language was banned. When they left these

schools, they were left in a state of limbo because they no longer fit into Native society nor did

they fit into the white man’s society. Steven Selden discusses the importance the eugenics
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 6

movement played in creating and perpetuating these educational systems and that these

ideologies were being spread publicly, at places like state fairs, and in schools as young as

kindergarten. (Selden, 1999) As a result we see generations of students from minority groups,

like those Native American children, growing up and inheriting shame, feeling like they do not

belong and that they are other and wrong. Subtractive schooling perpetuates the sustaining of

inequity by not valuing the experiences and differences of our students but brushing them to the

side and pretending like they do no matter.

As educational leaders we must reject these traditional ways of schooling and policy

making and fight for a critical pedagogy where we help to emancipate students from these social

injustices and awaken their critical consciousness. We must encourage other educators, leaders,

and our students to affect change in their world through social critique and political action. We

must examine the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within society and promote

inclusion and socially just organizations. According to the California Department of Education,

California is 74.8% ethnic minorities (CA Dept. of Ed, 2019). Yet 62% of teachers in California

are white and many are teaching the same curriculum, using the same pedagogies, and operating

under the same policies as they did when they themselves were students. A system that has been

perpetuated since the Industrial Revolution, where school was a way to keep children safe and

out of the workplace until they were old enough for monotonous factory jobs.

A great example of subtractive schooling is in social science. Of the 96 American

historical figures who are included in the California History-Social Studies framework, the ones

listed for elementary and junior high are 77% are white, 18% are African American, 4% are

Native American, 1% is Hispanic, and 0% is Asian American. At the secondary level 79% are

white, most of which are either U.S. presidents or famous authors and artists. How do we
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connect students to a curriculum that they cannot relate to? Children need to understand that they

are the children of indigenous people and not illegal immigrants on the lands of conquerors or

the leftovers of slavery. Their experiences, culture, and knowledge should be incorporated and

celebrated. Again, by not incorporating these we continue to perpetuate a system of inequity.

And it is not just the curriculum and pedagogies that need to be addressed and changed. It

is also school funding and disciplinary practices. If we examine how schools receive their

funding, we can trace the inequity back to redlining. People of color were not allowed to buy

homes or live in certain neighborhoods through laws and other policies that kept them out of

predominantly white neighborhoods. As a result, there was an establishment of clearly white

neighborhoods and minority neighborhoods. The predominantly white neighborhoods were and

are generally nicer neighborhoods with properties higher in value. Thus, their property taxes are

higher, and more funding has been and continues to be given to the schools filled with

predominantly white children. (ACT.TV, 2019) If we look at discipline practices, especially

suspension policies and the outsourcing of handling discipline to police, schools are more likely

to have a police officer if the student population is over 50% black. Black students are also

expelled three times more often than white students and black students are more likely to be

suspended for subjective offenses like talking back while white students are more likely to be

expelled for proven offenses, like drugs (Vox, 2016).

Bonilla-Silva argues that while there might be less overt racism and racists, racism is still

very much alive (Bonilla-Silva, 2017). Through color-blind racism, systems of racism and

oppression are creating division in order to reinforce the status-quo and keep the dominant group

in power while blaming the victim for their problems. Bonilla-Silva tells us that while yes

minorities are better off now than they have been in the past, these people are still facing
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 8

systematic oppression (such as more students of color being arrested than their white

counterparts even though they are not actually charged or convicted of crimes at a higher rate).

By attempting to minimize racism and pretend that being colorblind is not a racist practice, we

are only perpetuating the problem. We say that we are all about equity and giving everyone the

same opportunity, but we must realize that some students are operating at a deficit because of the

lack of opportunities they have had access to or the systems of oppression that they operate in. In

order to achieve equity, we need to meet every student where they are and help them get to the

level, we are hoping they will achieve. Using culturally responsive teaching is a serious and

powerful tool for students learning, especially for students of color who have been put on the

wrong side of the achievement gap.

One of the biggest problems facing educational leadership programs is that while there is

a huge push to focus on Critical Race Theory and embody culturally responsive teaching, a lot of

it stays in the theoretical stage and people struggle with putting these theories into action, which

is where change actually comes from. In one study the researcher wanted to bridge the gap

between multiculturalism, CRT, and educational leadership by looking at practices that do just

that. She identifies nine common leadership characteristics and explains that any leader can use a

CRT lens when practicing equity and social justice in our diverse schools (Santamaria, 2013).

The nine characteristics of Applied Critical Leadership are critical conversations, a CRT lens,

group consensus, being conscious of stereotype threat, academic discourse, honoring

constituents, leading by example, building trust with the mainstream, and servant leadership. The

individuals in Santamaria’s study were able to discuss how intersectionality shaped their

identities and how that played a role in their development as leaders. They were also able to

articulate and demonstrate the strategies they use in leadership to focus on equity and social
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 9

justice. For example, Rose, a Choctaw psychologist, engaged in research about her community in

order to raise awareness about education in Native communities. Julian, a Mexican American K-

6 principal, questioned how identity interrupted or enhanced ability to see alternative

perspectives. Kelly, a transgender Japanese Okinawan American dean of associated students,

practiced deliberate inclusion and expanded definitions of diversity to include student who are

LGBTQ. 

In another study, the researchers also looked at specific examples of how educational

leaders (principals in his study) are guiding their schools in transformation in order to make them

better for marginalized students (Theoharis, 2007). These principals are working towards

changing the culture, curriculum, pedagogical practices, atmosphere, and school wide priorities

that are under-serving and oppressing their students of color. These principals make issues of

race, class, gender, disability, and sexual orientation key to their advocacy and practices as

opposed to just sweeping them under the rug like some educational leaders have and still do.

Despite the resistance these educational leaders are enacting against the marginalization of

students, they are still receiving resistance from educators and community members, however if

we are to serve our students justly, we need to keep fighting. 

Another way that this issue is being addressed is through the development of ethnic

studies classes which examine what is being taught and how it is being taught. Even though these

types of classes had previously been banned in Arizona, several districts, including Rialto

Unified School District are looking to incorporate these programs into schools. Students from

marginalized groups have more negative experiences in the education system than white students

so it is important to create an environment where their lived experiences are valued and

celebrated. In “The Relevance of Critical Race Theory: Impact on Students of Color,” Monica
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 10

Allen identifies five key tenets to CRT that need to be understood in order for these classes to

develop a purpose and be successful (Allen, 2016). They are that racism is permanent, that we

need to challenge the dominant ideology, that we need to draw on the centrality of experiential

knowledge, that there needs to be a convergence of the interests of those in power, and that we

must also look at intersectionality as it is not just race that causes people of color to experience

oppression. In the article “Toward an Ethnic Studies Pedagogy: Implications for K-12 Schools

from the Research,” they identify that in order for these ethnic studies classes to be successful

there needs to be culturally responsive pedagogy (possibly more important than the content

itself), a community responsive pedagogy, and teacher racial identity development (Tintiangco-

Cubales, et al., 2015). 

It is imperative that changes be made for our marginalized students. We need to make

changes to the curriculum, the pedagogies, the policies, and the cultures of schools in order to

serve our under-represented students. We need to teach students that privilege is not necessarily

a bad thing, but it is all about how you use that privilege. We need to raise socially conscious

individuals who are prepared to be active members of society and help make the changes that

need to be made. By creating educational opportunities through Project Based Learning with a

social justice focus we can do just that. Students will not only be engaged but they will be

empowered as they investigate, report, and rally around the causes that concern them most.

Supporting Literature
A fundamental problem in our educational system is the focus on standardized tests. As

mentioned above in conjunction with the eugenicist movement, these types of tests are not

equitable, nor have they been proven to be good measures of student knowledge. If the goal of

schools is to create active and productive members of society that are accepting of our diverse
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 11

populations, how do standardized tests help with that? According to an article by Michael

Hernandez regarding the inclusion of social justice projects in the classroom, he said, “One of

the best ways to develop cultural literacy and help our students understand these goals is through

social justice processes and projects, activities that develop a mindset of concern for our

society’s inequity in wealth, education, and privilege. These projects empower our students to

effect change through awareness, advocacy, activism, and aid.” Students should be learning

about the problems that impact different populations’ quality of life and how people have and

can work to solve these problems. One of the ways this can be done is through Project Based

Learning.

Project Based Learning has become another buzz word in the world of education but not

a lot of teachers really understand what Project Based Learning is; they tend to think projects and

Project Based Learning are the same when in fact they are very different. Project Based Learning

is a sustained inquiry over a period that has students actively engaged in their learning by

looking at meaningful and real-world problems and creating a product or solution to that inquiry

that they present to a real audience. The Buck Institute for Education is at the forefront of

educating teachers about Project Based Learning and how to use it. They argue that Project

Based Learning, in and of itself, is a tool for social justice as we place education at the center of

the fight against injustice. In their article, “Sustained Inquiry in PBL as a Tool for Social

Justice,” they quote Professor Tabitha Dell’Angelo as saying,

“Social justice is not an "add on" for classrooms... Teachers can both maintain high-
quality content instruction and create a classroom with a social justice orientation. Also, a social
justice orientation is appropriate for all classrooms. This isn't something that just gets done in
diverse classrooms, or classrooms that lack diversity, or urban classrooms -- or any other special
category of school. It is a way of teaching and being that supports high-level thinking and
learning throughout our lives.”
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 12

One leader in social justice education is Youth-led Participatory Action Research

(YPAR). YPAR uses an approach that ties youth and community together to conduct systematic

research and take action to improve their lives, their communities, and the institutions that should

be doing a better job of serving them that are not. YPAR teaches youth that systems of

oppression are not natural and that they are produced by those in power and seeks to show them

how they can begin to make systemic changes. According to “Youth Participatory Action

research: A Pedagogy for Transformational Resistance,”

“What perhaps distinguishes young people engaged in YPAR from the standard
representations in critical youth studies is that their research is designed to contest and transform
systems and institutions to produce greater justice— distributive justice, procedural justice, and
what Iris Marion Young calls a justice of recognition, or respect. In short, YPAR is a formal
resistance that leads to transformation— systematic and institutional change to promote social
justice” (Cammarota and Fine p.14).

The key is building a curriculum that ties content mastery and learning targets together

with this type of social justice action. Maighread McHugh looked at how doing this within

mathematics worked. He conducted a case study exploring how five sixth grade girls used

project-based learning in math utilizing a social justice lens. He found that students flourished

not only in mastery of the content but also in rigorous learning as they chose real world social

issues to tie to their math learning targets. This is just one more case that shows the benefit and

importance of such a curriculum.

Contributions to Education
By incorporating project-based learning with a social justice focus we can open access to

all students and include previously ignored or discouraged topics. We will help students find and

share their voices by inspiring them to act, to use different learning modalities, and by giving

them a platform. We can create critically conscious students who will see they can make an

impact now, which will empower them to keep trying to make an impact as they enter the world
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 13

as adults. This type of curriculum will not treat students as unknowing and uncaring children but

as agents of change that have valuable insight, lived experiences, and passions. They will be able

to integrate their perspective and their culture into their education which will make them feel as

if they are a part of their education and not just bystanders of it.

I have started this process with my own students and have seen the remarkable changes in

them as well as in myself as an educator and a member of our community. I have been sharing

out what I have been doing with my colleagues as well as through social media to help inspire

other teachers to follow suit. I have presented at several conferences and am hoping the district

will adopt some of my ideas, especially regarding ethnic studies classes they have started to

implement. While this process will take time, I have no doubts that it will help make systemic

changes in education for the betterment of our students and our communities and it will help

students to attain equitable outcomes in their education.

Conclusion
If you ask any teacher, most teachers will tell you that engagement in the classrooms is a

huge issue. If you ask the WASC accreditation team that visits high schools, they will tell you

engagement in the classroom is a huge issue; so, will administration and so will students. How

though do we define engagement? Some teachers might argue that a student sitting quietly, and

reading is engaged, after all, they are engaged in completing their assignment. Some teachers

might argue that students taking notes during a lecture are engaged, after all, they are sitting

quietly and paying attention. The dictionary defines engagement as being present or completing a

job. Is that enough? Should we not push past more than just students being physically present

and completing assignments and move into empowerment? As mentioned previously, students,

especially students of color are struggling to make connections to material that does not relate to
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 14

them, that they do not see themselves in. Students will tell you quite candidly that they do not

like the education system and wish they could focus on the things they think are important. How

do we do that? By tying together content with the concerns and passions of our students and

helping them find and share their voice on these issues. The best way to create a change that will

impact the lives of students and the educational system is through project-based learning with a

social justice focus.

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References
ACT.TV. (2019, April, 16). Systematic Racism Explained. Retrieved from 
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Allen, M. (2016) The Relevance of Critical Race Theory: Impact on Students of Color. UERPA
Education Research and Policy Annuals, 5(1), 33-44.
https://journals.uncc.edu/urbaned/article/view/575 

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2017) Racism Without Racists: Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of
Racial Inequality in America (5th ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 

California Department of Education (2020, January 4). Fingertip Facts of Education in

California. Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/cb/ceffingertipfacts.asp

Cammarota, J. and Fine, M. (2008) Revolutionizing Education: Youth Participatory Action

Research in Motion. New York, NY: Routledge

Hernandez, M. (2016) Social Justice Projects in the Classroom. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/social-justice-projects-in-classroom-michael-hernandez

McHugh, M. (2015) “Project-Based Social Justice Mathematics: A Case Study of Five 6th Grade
Students”.  ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
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Moran Parsons, C. (2018) Sustained Inquiry in PBL as a Tool for Social Justice. Buck Institute
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justice

Santamaria, L. (2013) Critical Change for the Greater Good: Multicultural Perceptions in
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Selden, S. (1999) Inheriting Shame: The Story of Eugenics and Racism in America. New York, 
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Tintiangco-Cubales, A., Kohil, R., Sacramento, J., Henning, N., Agarwal-Rangnath, R., &
Sleeter, C. (2015) Toward an Ethnic Studies Pedagogy: Implications for K-12 Schools from the
Research. The Urban Review, 47, 104-125. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-014-0280-y

Vox. (2016, January, 11). The School-to-Prison-Pipeline, explained. Retrieved from

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