Integrating Humane Pedagogy and Whole School Sustainability: A Critical Examination of a Justice-Based, Universally Inclusive Curricular Framework

Challenges to empowering secondary students toward engagement in addressing injustice persist in the United States education system. Likewise, teachers feel generally underprepared to support students through the process. A critical examination of literature in justice-based pedagogy and praxis revealed a gap in practical application of justice education as it pertains to empowering teachers and engaging students in a justice-oriented process of learning and doing. A qualitative bricolage approach employed case study and heuristic methodologies to share the professional stories and observations of three secondary teachers within a highly urbanized and diverse county schools district, and facilitate a dialogue between those stories and that of the researcher, a secondary teacher along the journey of discovering practical ways of engaging and empowering students to actively address injustice. Through participation in a fellowship of a justice-based curriculum rooted in principles of humane education and the whole school sustainability organizational approach offered by their county office of education, teachers' stories illuminated a transformative experience that reinvigorated their enthusiasm and hope in the profession. Through a paralleled transformative learning process in the classroom, students were observed to access and activate voice, agency, and motivation toward addressing injustice. Critical and systems thinking paired with social emotional support facilitated a positive learning experience for students as they learned and grappled with injustice. Community engagement activated for many students and teachers a connection with the real world, and fostered a sense of hope in creating a more just and sustainable world for all. The findings of this study offer far-reaching implications for igniting teacher and student passion toward addressing injustice and provides practical advice for education stakeholders on how to implement justice-based, universally inclusive curricular and instructional methods in the U.S. secondary education system. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]