Social Justice: Inequality in U.S Educational Opportunities

Introduction

Social justice is advocating for all people to be entitled to their human rights. It is a view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, social and educational opportunities. In the United States, everyone does not have equal opportunities and are treated fairly, which leads to the different civil rights movements and reform efforts. A social justice issue that does not receive a lot of attention is that children in the U.S do not have equal educational opportunities. Typically, geographic location determines if a child would receive a high quality education. A high quality education would involve a strong vision and leadership, ambitious standards and effective teachers and principals (Stewart, 2012). Unfortunately, all

In great detail, Stewart (2012) and Ripley (2013) explained the characteristics of the education systems in Finland, Poland, South Korea, Singapore and Canada that made them the leaders in education. One characteristic that was interesting is the value placed on equal education. The education superpowers believe all children should receive the same quality of education. These countries have one set of rigorous standards that all schools use and require all teachers to have the same credentials. Equality in all sectors of education give all children the same opportunities and learning experiences. Another characteristic is the connection between education and their society (Stewart, 2012; Ripley (2013). For example, in South Korea, their greatest resource is their citizens, so they invested in their human capital by assuring all children had access to a quality education (Stewart, 2012). Ripley (2013) explained that in Finland their education system functions as a collaborate effort. All stakeholders work together to make major decisions in their education system. This allows for all voices to be heard and have the opportunity to contribute their ideas. These examples provided by Stewart (2012) and Ripley (2013) show how important equal education is to countries that are leaders in

Unfortunately, in the U.S it is a struggle for all children to receive the same learning experiences. Stewart (2012) and Ripley (2013) advocate for the transformation of the U.S education system. Stewart (2012) discusses in great detail how different countries changed their education system to benefits all children and urges the U.S to do something similar but in the context of the culture of the country. Although, Ripley (2013) does not agree with all the practices of the countries that have high achievement, she does recognize some good strategies the U.S should adopt. Lastly, Schwartz (2014) want all students in the U.S to have the chance to be successful by revamping vocational education. This is important because the option to receive a highly effective vocational education could give all students the chance to learn more about something they are interested in and a possible career. Overall, all of the authors want all students to have access to a high quality education that gives each student the opportunity to be successful (Ripley, 2013; Schwartz (2014); Stewart