Teaching for Social Justice and K-12 Student Outcomes: A Conceptual Framework and Research Review

Redressing educational inequity requires taking a comprehensive and systemic approach to education reform, a practice increasingly framed as “social justice (in) education.” However, while state and federal accountability mandates require any reform intended for K-12 classroom implementation to have a demonstrable impact on student achievement, published accounts of classroom-level “teaching for social justice” are widely varied and scantly evaluated. This article examines the conceptual foundations of teaching for social justice, presents a concrete framework for teaching for social justice in K-12 classrooms, and examines how elements of teaching for social justice are supported by existing research on secondary students’ academic, behavioral/motivational, and attitudinal outcomes. In conducting this review, the author hopes to provide both a rationale for teaching for social justice in K-12 classrooms and a foundation for future empirical research on how doing so affects student outcomes.