Gary Walsh
gary.walsh@glasgow.ac.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8642-3108
Research title: Does social justice require a ‘socially just’ citizenry
Research Summary
Thesis Title:
Education for a Socially Just Citizenry? The role of education in developing post-capitalist social relations
What is the role of school education in producing justice-oriented citizens? How should educational practice and policy account for economic, cultural and political context in these endeavours? This philosophical study aims to explore the relationship between social justice and the civic identities of citizens developed through education.
It is commonly asserted that education is fundamental to the realisation of social justice, yet the role of education in this regard can lack conceptual clarity in theory, policy and practice. Social justice is a contested term with a variety of meanings and implications that change over time. The difference made by schools, educators, pedagogies and curricula in relation to social justice is similarly contested, and it is recognised that the education system itself can perpetuate social inequalities. This thesis examines theories and philosophies of social justice, linking them to a critique of citizenship education in the Euro-American tradition. The aim is to provide conceptual clarification of the role of education in strengthening the knowledge base, practices and social arrangements required for justice-oriented citizenship. I embark on a philosophical thought experiment, beginning with the provocation that social justice requires a socially just citizenry; a double helix combining justice-oriented citizenship with the creation and maintenance of a socially just order.
Supervisors
Grants
University of Glasgow
College of Social Science PhD Studentship
Conference
2021
(Apr) Philosophy of Education Society for Great Britain seminar
Education for a Socially Just Citizenry? Recording available here.
(Feb) Five Nations Conference 2021: Active Citizenship for a Hopeful Future
Citizenship Education and the Emotions of Justice: Pedagogies of Hope
2020
Education Colloquium, University of Glasgow
Social Justice, Citizenship and Education: Creating the Socially Just Citizenry
2019
Scottish Educational Research Association conference, Edinburgh.
Pedagogies of Anger and Hope: emotional responses to injustice and inequality
2018
Political Studies Association Annual International Conference, Cardiff.
Can Character Education Contribute to Social Justice?
2016
International Congress of School Effectiveness and Improvement, Glasgow.
Character Education and Human Flourishing.
Teaching
Additional Information
Additional roles and responsibilities
Project Assistant: Stevenson Trust for Citizenship (University of Glasgow)
Websites