Social justice and education for citizenship in England

In this chapter we define and then discuss the background to and the issues associated with social justice and education in England. Social justice has long been identified by policy makers as a key priority. Very different approaches have been adopted including selective education, common schooling (or comprehensives) for all, as well as current neo-liberal approaches in which strong control by central government occurs at the same time as individual schools operate with greater autonomy. We discuss particular issues that affect social justice including the National Curriculum, namely, school structures, aspirations, and pedagogies. We then consider the changes in citizenship education and the connections with social justice.