WALK IN THE LIGHT!

Walk In The Light!: Schools Conditioning Students for Activism & Agency

Brandon J. Watkins

Cato College of Education, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

EDCI 8180: Critical Issues in Urban Education

Dr. Chance Lewis

November 16, 2022

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Abstract

Social Justice in schools is not a new phenomenon. This notion of orienting students

toward active agents of social change has been theorized, discussed, and practiced since the early

days of John Dewey. In recent years, social unrest has led to many individuals around the world

becoming active citizens through social justice movements. This participation looks different

depending on the conditions, individuals involved, and possible outcomes. There are questions

that remain in regard to schools and social justice. One, how can schools condition students to

become active citizens? Another, how can schools create opportunities for students to build

agency around pressing social issues. This paper discusses how schools can intentionally create

those opportunities. It provides recommendations and strategies to help schools become

intentional about planning for social justice and allowing students opportunities to become

justice oriented citizens.

Keywords: social justice, justice-oriented, student activism, agency, social emotional

learning, civic engagement

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Recommendations for School Conditioning Students for Activism and Agency

Social Justice has become a buzzword in recent years. Its resurgence can be pinpointed

during the COVID-19 pandemic when the world was fighting a disastrous and deadly virus while

battling a racism pandemic. These two pandemics intersected and affected people of color more

drastically than any other race-based demographic. During this time, activists began to speak out

against the injustices they were (are) experiencing based on their skin color. This self-advocacy

and activism manifested in marches, rallies, sit-ins, news interviews, and much more. Activism

breeding grounds such as Minnepolis, Minnesota, where a white police officer murdered George

Floyd, an unarmed African America male, garnered national attention. Individuals were hurting,

angry, and took action into their own hands. Individuals called for sustainable change, equity,

inclusion, and justice for all. The spectrum of issues was wide; gender inequality, reproductive

rights, and much more. Community rallies, prayer vigils, and local marches demonstrated

individual and collective agency as a response to the myriad of local and national injustices.

In public education, there has been a trend of developing students as productive global

citizens aware of societal inequities and oppressive systemic structures. These systems, designed

to uphold the longstanding mantle of white supremacy, perpetuate hurt and harm to students in

urban settings. This hurt comes in various forms, such as implicit biases from teachers, higher

percentages of subjective discipline referrals, and even a school rating system, with academic,

social, emotional, and family involvement included, constructed to measure grade level

proficiency instead of student growth (Milner, 2015, p. 122). These issues directly impact urban

students' academic progress, living conditions, and economic mobility. States and school districts

across the country have introduced rigorous academic standards and graduate profiles that

outline skills students should acquire by graduation. For example, in South Carolina (SC), under
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the provision of the SC College and Career Readiness Standards, a graduate should be

self-directed, view issues from a global perspective, be a critical thinker and a problem solver, be

creative and innovative, be media literate, and be able to communicate clearly (South Carolina

Department of Education). Prince William County Schools in Manassas, VA positions its

graduates as connection builders who demonstrate compassion, empathy, and understanding, all

while being resilient and understanding the power of the individual to enact change (Prince

William County School District). Wyoming’s State Board of Education anchors its graduate

profile on four pillars: learning, working, contributing, and thriving (Wyoming State Board of

Education). Contribution is a thread which intersects all graduate requirements. In the various

graduate requirements, once students have amassed the outlined skills they are encouraged to

contribute to their communities by sharing those acquired skills. Giving specific attention to the

Wyonming’s Contribute pillar, I lift the notion that students should be contributing individuals to

their schools and communities. It is important to note that contribution weighs twenty-five

percent of the graduate profile. The twenty-five percent weighting signifies the significance of

service to others and volunteerism. Society will be in a better position to change positively

through their contributions.

Through learning, collaboration, and inquiry, school districts and state boards of

education outline their success (or lack thereof) in students’ ability to create change within their

school and communities. This vision of schools as places for self-driven agency taught through

experimentation has prevailed throughout history. An early education philosopher, Dewey

believed “schools should facilitate socially just civic engagement” (Dewey, 1897, as cited in

Silva, 2011, p. 62). One look at schools and classrooms today and agency development and

facilitation of civic engagement are not always included in long-term academic plans by teachers
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and/or administrators, and this is a problem. Albeit tedious and stressful, the work is possible.

Some teachers and administrators are heavily involved in helping students inquire into civic

issues, engage in critical discourse, and develop action-oriented plans to uplift their

communities. The idea of social justice and teacher praxis meet in a recent study in North

Carolina. Through a partnership with a university professor and a middle school teacher, students

in a middle school English/Language Arts class (ELA) are involved in critical service learning

centered around the idea of justice. The students' development of critical thinking, inquiry, and

understanding of local issues were heightened throughout the course of the study. The students

became more keenly aware of issues in their local community and how they have the power to be

active change agents.

Literature Review

Critical inquiry and literacy skills are useful tools that will help students investigate

social structures. Schools must create conditions for students to become agents of social change.

These conditions must create a culture of belonging and a sense of security and community

where students can inquire about pressing issues, investigate power structures, collaborate on

potential solutions, and share in decision making. In this review of literature, the history of

schools and social justice is examined while studying critical inquiry and literary skills.

Furthermore, Transformative Social Emotional Learning is mentioned and its role in creating

equitable opportunities for all students. Lastly, this essay highlights the discussion on a

democratic education and its centrality to a learning space that values democracy.

This literature review shares common themes with the graduate profile requirements

mentioned in this essay’s introduction. Those themes are Schools and Social Justice, Democratic

Education, Student & School Contribution for Change, preparing students to become more self
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and community aware through Transformative Social Emotional Learning, and Critical Service

Learning. This literature will expand how schools can begin or continue to use their educational

spaces as breeding grounds for creating student agency and opportunities for student activism.

The graduate profiles already place this role on schools, but this review highlights the practical

ways in which this can be achieved.

History of Social Justice & Schools

Social Justice and Student Activism is not new to education; in fact lately, there has been

a “radical rise of social injustice” (Ayers et al., 2009, p. 1). Perhaps it was Horace Mann’s

common school approach that we can coin as the first iteration of social justice in school. Boyles

et. al (2009) asserts that “Mann’s vision for American schools represented the first attempt to

educate mass members of a diverse population of students, but it remains debatable whether

Mann’s vision was realized” (p. 34). Furthermore, under Dewey’s assertion, schools were

responsible for producing citizens who would work to eliminate injustices perpetuated by society

members (Boyles et al., 2009, p. 35). Dewey’s ideology heavily influenced the graduate profiles

where school systems seek to build productive citizens who critique society. Using Mann’s

vision and Dewey’s framework for school, schools foremost responsibility is to include students

in a deep inquiry of real societal and social issues (Boyles, 2009, p. 34).

Critical Inquiry & Literacy Skills

Research shows there are specific skills schools must equip students with in order to be

active agents of social change. Critical inquiry and literacy skills are vital in this development.

Spires et al. (2021) assert that critical inquiry advances students’ agency in hopes of making a

significant contribution to society (p. 221). Agency, through a critical inquiry lens and coupled

with critical literacy, “supports students to produce truth, interrogate power, and make change –
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change that occurs inwardly and externally” (Spires et al., 2021, p. 221). Furthermore, critical

inquiry allows students to see challenges in a myriad of ways which causes analysis and

suggestive changes (Spires et al., 2021, p. 222). Power lies in the joining of forces, and a

collaborative critical inquiry approach “positions students in relation to their inquiry partners,

topics, and social action” and because of this, there is a deeper perception and an even “more

critical stance to inquiry” (Spires et al., 2021, p. 222).

Critical inquiry and literacy skills seamlessly connect with Dewey’s idea of schooling.

These skills By interrogating power structures and calling out societal inequities, students are

helping to put an end to wrongdoing perpetuated by society. Spires calls for this, as well, but sees

more power in collaborative action. Learning in isolation is an obsolete teaching practice that

many teachers have moved away from. Since the inception of Common Core teaching standards,

schools have made it a priority to include collaborative learning opportunities in their

curriculum. In collaborative learning spaces, students are deeply engrossed in the sharing of

ideas and knowledge, critical debate, and argument critique all of which incorporate critical

inquiry and literacy skills. Oftentimes, these collaborative learning opportunities are limited to

content specific activities that do not expand beyond the threshold of the classroom. There are

many reasons as to why teachers do not move beyond content specific collaborative learning and

not toward integrating content with social justice education. Kafele (2021) asserts many reasons,

but the most salient would be, for teachers, “you don’t feel it is consistent with your political

views”. Kafele continues by noting that what happens in classrooms is not about the teacher, but

it is all about positioning students to become critical thinkers and learners.

What is not identified, but is a critical skill, is reflection. Chung et al. (2021) defines

reflection as “occurs when people evaluate their own work, identify disparities between their
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current and desired performance, and reflect upon ways in which they can improve”. Reflection

is a mean making process where a student is moved from one experience to another with a

deeper understanding of how their previous experiences connect to the new experience (Rogers,

2002, p. 845). Students, through a reflection process, become more self aware and critical of the

systems and nuances around them. When an individual participates in reflection they are seeking

solutions and hope to walk away with a learning nugget that can be applied in various situations.

With the newly discovered learning nugget, the individual will seek out individuals who share a

learning discovery similar to their own.

The notion of connecting with individuals who share a similar learning discovery pairs

well with collaborative learning. Students, on the closing end of a reflective process, walk away

with something important to them worth sharing with others. Once students return to their

collaborative learning community, teachers can present a social justice issue steeped in content

specific academic standards where students have the opportunity to engage in critical problem

solving where issues of power and truth are investigated and, possibly, challenged. For example,

a mathematics teacher may present a statistical issue of National Football League (NFL) players

rushing averages based on race, ethnicity, etc. during the early years of the league’s integration.

Articles covering player treatment and the NFL’s integration efforts would pair well with this

lesson or unit to continue fine tuning those critical inquiry and literacy skills.

In keeping with academic responsibility of rigorous teaching and learning, reflection is a

“rigorous and disciplined way of thinking” (Rogers, 2002, p. 845). Reflection is more than just

thinking something over.

Transformative Social Emotional Learning

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Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a key driver for orienting students toward civil

leadership, transformational student action, and creating a culture of belonging in schools.

Transformational Social Emotional Learning deeply embeds justice-oriented citizenship while

promoting equity and inclusivity through SEL competencies (Jasper et al., 2019, p 1). The

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as “a

process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge,

attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive

goals, feel and show empathy toward others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and

make responsible decisions (Jasper et al, 2019, p.1). Transformative Social Emotional Learning

dives deeper and specifically focuses on equity in education in terms of equitable learning

environments and opportunities.

Salient as a long term outcome for Transformative SEL is an engaged citizenship (Jasper

et al., 2019, p. 164). An engaged citizenship can take on many different shapes and forms. It

should be the hope of schools that they produce engaged citizens that seek to transform their

schools and communities. SEL is a critical component in creating citizens who are engaged in

continuous social improvement. Jasper highlights the idea of a critical democracy. A few notable

components of a critical democracy is “collectivism, productive interactionism, and authentic

engagement as its goal” (Jasper et al., 2019, p.164). The tenets of Transformative SEL

(Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Responsible Decision Making, and

Relationships Skills) are avenues for reestablishing our focus on Dewey’s idea of school and

incorporating critical inquiry skills, as well (Jasper et al., 2021, p. 165). Since SEL is an integral

part of students' development as actively involved citizens, a higher priority is placed on its

inclusion in classroom teachings. Jasper et al (2021) examines different forms of citizenship

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where SEL has implications regarding social justice. Transformative citizenship is one worth

examining for the purpose of this article. Transformative citizenship, closely aligned to

distributive justice, refers to actions that help eradicate ill-resulted policies and social structures

that are not consistent with all individuals being valued as human beings (Jasper et. al, 2021,

p.164). In a Transformative citizenship, students will become aware of how goods and services

are distributed and allocated. This awareness will bring knowledge of whether this is done

equitable or not and how this distribution is determined. Students in this type of citizenship build

a regard for the public that is centered around sharing, helping, and belonging all of which

considers society’s collective well-being (Jasper et. al, 2021, p. 166).

Jasper’s idea of Transformative SEL parallels the themes and notions presented by Spires

and the graduation requirements outlined by states. Transformative SEL is built on the identity

formation. What the research has presented has dealt with identity formation, as well. Schools

are essential in helping students build their identity as an active participant in their citizenship.

Whether that citizenship is transformative, interpersonal, or participatory (Jasper et. al, 2021, p.

165), schools are mandated by their district administrators or departments of education to equip

students with the necessary tools to become active in one of those citizenships. Dewey, too, as

presented through Spires and Rogers research, believes the purpose of education is to orient

students towards civic engagement and leadership. Transformative SEL adds a new component

to what Dewey believed and creates a more practical path for school and teachers to use as a tool

to guide their students’ development.

Democratic Education

Education in America has traditionally been centered around democracy and the ideals of

a democratic society. Thus, equipping students with the skills, knowledge, and values they will
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need to participate in and maintain a democratic society. These acquired skills and values will

help students function properly in a larger-scale democracy. School, as a microcosm of society,

has an essential role in ensuring the life of democratic education. According to Edwards et al.

(2014), democratic values such as an open exchange of ideas, shared decision-making, equity,

and a concern for the common good should be fostered in schools (p. 14-15). By participating in

various learning contexts, students gain analytical skills that will be beneficial when examining

social and political problems, collaborating, thinking critically, and reflecting. This notion of a

democratic education aligns with the graduate profiles outlined by various states. Again, these

profiles call for students to be critical thinkers, collaborators, innovators, and active societal

participants.

In an education system that centers on democracy, as Edward et al. assert (2014), teachers

should construct curricula that allow students to work out solutions to real-world problems (p.

15). There are multiple ways to do this through a democratic approach. One way to accomplish

this is through active learning. Dewey championed an active learning environment where more is

taking place than teachers passing the information to students (Dewey, 1897, as cited in Edward

et. al, 2014, 14). In active learning, students are immersed in a learning environment that exposes

them to various types of environments. Teacher take on the role of learning facilitator and push

students to become problem solvers through collaborative learning environments (Edwards et al.,

2014, p. 14).

Edwards et al believes that active learning is “fundamental to meeting the needs of early

adolescents and methodologies…” (2021, p. 14). These researchers’ study only advocates for

middle school students and teachers. What they did not look at is how active learning can help

schools orient their students toward social justice involvement at the elementary and high school
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levels. In elementary school, students are not as self-aware as students in middle school and in

high school students are more likely to be self-aware than middle school students. In this

discussion of active learning, the practice of Transformative SEL would help to study how active

learning can be applied at the elementary and high school levels.

Methods & Data

First, we will need to gain an understanding of how students interpret their school’s

culture and climate. An environment that is safe and free of judgment is essential to students

feeling comfortable about discussing social issues. The Education Week Research Center (2019)

conducted a survey of nearly 700 K-12 teachers about social-emotional learning, school safety,

and student mental health. In the chart below, less than 50% of teachers say their students feel

very safe at school. Also, almost 10% feel somewhat unsafe or very unsafe.

Unsurprisingly, the percentage of students feeling unsafe at schools is a response to an

environment where they feel like they cannot be themselves, be vulnerable, and share ideas.
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Alleviating this sense of fear, schools should work to create a culture of belonging for their

students. In the chart below, The Education Week Research Centers (2019) states teachers

believe that social and emotional learning programs or strategies alongwith strategies to improve

a sense of belonging in the school community will have the biggest impact on students feeling

safe in schools.

Discussion

Research reveals that it is essentially important for students to critically inquire into

issues that are of relevance to their lives. Students will become interested in issues for different

reasons, but interest must mingle with other phenomena to drive change. Inspiration can

encourage interest and action, but these things alone cannot drive students to take physical steps

to face problems in their classrooms, schools, and communities (Bond et al., 2021, p.1). For

students to become active agents of change, they need tools to jump-start their activism - the how

and why. As Bond et al. (2021) state, adult guidance and support will be needed (p.1).

School should be a place where students observe the world around them, learn deeply,

and respond to inequities they see. These inequities could be wide-ranging: food quality in their

school cafeteria, tax appropriation to local community agencies, the lack of access to broadband

in their state, or global issues such as immigration or climate change. Bond et al. (2021) suggest
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that educators must awaken social action in students.. School is a fertile ground for tilling

pragmatic thoughts and responses without worrying about judgment.

Recommendations & Conclusions

It is highly possible for schools to orient students to become agents of social change.

Still, district leaders, school administrators, and teachers must be willing to engage students in

critical thinking, collaborative learning processes, and shared decision-making. Thus, allowing

students opportunities to critically examine and discuss pertinent issues and propose action items

to implement change. Before students can be open to discussing any issue there must be a culture

and climate that is conducive to vulnerability and risk taking. No change will take place where

comfort and value are felt.

Schools can work to construct instructional programs that integrate social-emotional

learning competencies. SEL competencies such as social awareness, self-awareness, responsible

decision-making, self-management, and relationship building will allow students to view issues

from different perspectives and be empathetic toward others, especially individuals from diverse

backgrounds and cultures (Jasper et al., 2021, p. 165). Through self-awareness, students will

become more aware of their thoughts, feelings, strengths, and growth areas, thus, creating a

growth mindset that can expand beyond themselves. When students are aware of their personal

strengths and weaknesses, they are in a better position to think critically about how those

elements can be used to enact social change. Schools can assist in building more self-aware

students through character education programs focusing on SEL competencies. Outside of that,

general education teachers can work with students in identifying and setting goals. Through this

work, students are working toward growth and are employing critical thinking skills.
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Schools and communities can provide opportunities for students to become agents of

change by empowering their voices on school and community-related issues. Empowering

students is essential to helping them grow and develop as contributors to our global society. As

identified by the graduate profiles, schools seek to do this but often fall short. In a collaborative

effort, schools and communities can create initiatives that raise and value student input on

pertinent issues. Opportunities like these could manifest themselves by adding students to hiring

committees and local boards or creating advisory committees composed only of students. Jasper

et al. (2019) suggest schools develop a committee for student voices. A Student Voice

Committee (SVC), while using Socratic Seminar Questioning (SSQ), is a vehicle for

student-driven change. With an SVC, students are provided a platform that allows their voices to

be heard regarding issues particular to their school. Also, the committee will allow for a

collaborative effort in proposing solutions to the identified issues. SSQ will lead students to the

heart of the issues by activating prior knowledge, stimulating discussion, eliciting creative and

critical thinking. These initiatives will offer many incentives, such as open lines of

communication, involved and active students, and improved relationships among students and

their schools.

Lastly, teachers should work to write curricula to include a critical service learning

project that is justice oriented. It is important that teachers work to develop curricula that move

students to social change. Using a Social Reconstructivist lens, where the power to change

society and democracy are centered, teachers can engage students in service learning

opportunities to study school and/or societal issues. Coffey & Fulton (2018) states “critical

service-learning requires instructors to incorporate activities and reflections that motivate a

social change orientation, engage students in examination of redistribution of power, and develop
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authentic relationships” (p. 17). In this curriculum, students would work to identify social justice

issues that are of concern in their school and community. The results of service learning curricula

centered around justice will be many. First, students will have first-hand experience with

conducting research and inquiring into why such issues exist. Through research and inquiry,

students will build transferable skills needed to maintain a democratic society. Additionally,

students will be able to sharpen their critical thinking, analytical, and writing skills. Lastly,

students will have experience with synthesizing multiple perspectives and information sources

that will help them develop an argument for their identified social justice issue (Coffey & Fulton,

2018, pg. 16).

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Bond, L., Elias, M., Nayman, S. Empowering students for social action in social studies. (2021).

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Boyles, D., Carusi, T., and Attick, D. Historical and critical interpretations of social justice.

(2009). In W. Ayers, T. Quinn, & D. Stovall (Eds.). Handbook of Social Justice in

Education (p. 30-41). Routledge.

Chung, H., Chen, V., & Olson, C. (2021). The impact of self assessment, planning, and goal

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Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 34(7). 1885-1912.

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