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Social Justice in the University Context
University of Kent at CanterburyMarch 2012
Adrienne S. Chan, PhDUniversity of the Fraser ValleyCanada
To examine social justice within Canadian universities (experiences, practices, policies, contexts, institutional culture). This includes a consideration of diversity and equity.
Objectives of the research
Research conducted over a three year period
Background research – documentary review : 20 universities
Field research – three universities, interviews
Overview
Fairness and equity
Access, resources, rights, and treatment for marginalized individuals, and groups of people who do not share equal power in society.
(Constantine, Hage, Kindaichi, & Bryant, 2007)
Social Justice
Research intensive and teaching intensive
Twenty universities
Alberta
“Pillars” of social justice on the basis of the 20 universities
Human Rights & Harassment Policy
Equity and diversity policy
Aboriginal Access Policy and Services;
International Education
Disability issues and services
Relationship to the community
University of British Columbia McMaster University St. Francis Xavier University
Three case studies
UBC
UBC
McMaster
McMaster
McMaster
St. Francis Xavier
Equity@XMARCH 2008International Women’s Day
~~~Guest Speaker ~~~Kim Pate, Executive Director of the Canadian Associationof Elizabeth Fry Societies will speak on Women Prisonersin Canada: the Criminalization and Institutionalization ofWomen on the Margins. This is sponsored by StFXHuman Rights & Equity Office, StFX Women's Studiesand the Antigonish Women's Resource Centre.
St Francis Xavier
St. Francis Xavier
Theme 1- Policies for International Education, Aboriginal Education, and Inclusion
“it’s a discrimination and harassment policy. … the word equity was a bit of a trigger word. So we’ll all talk in terms of equity but we’re really talking in broader terms.”
Human rights and harassment prevention
Equity and diversity
Disability issues
Theme 2 – Human Rights and Equity: Policies for inclusion?
Surviving in the academy requires compliance to the “community rules, language and culture”… This community is uni-cultural; it is the uni-versity,”
Theme 3 – Contradictions resistance to change
Contradictions
“…working with an equity advisory committee I began to draft a policy, I looked at policies across the country and took what I thought were best practices from other universities because there really was no equity policy regarding that. …there was a lot of resistance…
…faculty through various departments expressed concerns around issues like employment equity”
Theme 4 – Policy discourses
Some human rights harassment policy tends to focus on sexual harassment only.
Policy discourses evokes a sense of containment and gatekeeping (e.g. hiring): there is a “reification of qualities and characteristics” that make a ‘good’ faculty member
Policy discourses
The future…
The purpose of policies: Diversity,
equity, human rights, harassment
Addressing campus “culture”: inclusion
Training and education about policy – related
to “live” processes
Individual and collective agency; advisory groups
to advocate for policy change and policy action
Re-examination of what it means to say we are
committed to Social Justice, Equity, and Diversity.
