From awareness to activism: Understanding commitment to social justice in higher education

Abstract

In this study, we examine the concept of social justice to provide greater clarity about how higher education might help students achieve more understanding about social justice and develop behaviors consistent with social change. We measured three dimensions of social justice: students’ recognition that inequality exists, their determination to do something, and their willingness to engage in actions that reduce inequality. Mean differences in scales tapping these views between students in introductory and capstone courses in six liberal arts disciplines—social work, sociology, psychology, criminal justice, gender studies, and communication—suggest variations in how students in these programs commit to social change. Capstone students consistently showed greater commitment to social justice compared to freshmen students. The most significant differences occurred in their willingness to take action. Patterns differed significantly within the six disciplines, and consideration is given to the emphasis placed on social justice within the six disciplines, as partially explaining the differences. These results suggest some modification to the notion in the literature that a ‘principal-implementation’ gap exists among adults in their commitment to social justice that tends to increase with maturation.