(1) Introduction to the Special Issue of the Florida Journal of Educational Research on Education Research for Equity and Social Justice in Florida

Cheron H. Davis
Florida A&M University

Alysia D. Roehrig
Florida State University

Tamara Bertrand Jones
Florida State University

Abstract

From pre-K to university, education can confer a host of personal and societal benefits to individuals and the nation. Because of the vital importance of education to civic and economic participation, democratic societies must ensure all citizens have equal and equitable access to education. However, despite broad support for the democratic ideals of equality and equity in education, minoritized populations, particularly in Florida, continue to face inequities due to multiple types of oppression, including racism, sexism, classism, and others, and their intersections in schools. We asked educators and researchers in Florida:

  1. What are the most pressing social justice issues in Florida schools today, and how is education in Florida continuing to reproduce and reconstitute systems of oppressive power, no matter how unintentionally?
  2. How do we address and redress social inequities?
  3. What innovative programs, curricula, and community partnerships are being conducted in and with Florida schools that lead to increased social justice and emancipation?

We are inspired by our colleagues who are champions of social justice, whose activist scholarship highlights and undermines systematic forces of marginalization in Florida’s schools, colleges, and universities. We highlight their impactful work in this introduction, and we encourage you to share and apply the insights and recommendations contained in their policy critiques, program descriptions, literature reviews, research studies, and commentaries in this special issue.

Citation

Davis, C.H., Roehrig, A.D., & Bertrand Jones T. (2021).  Introduction to the Special Issue of the Florida Journal of Educational Research on Education Research for Equity and Social Justice in Florida. Florida Journal of Educational Research, 59(1), 1-7.

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