Diversity & Inclusion in
Education 1
Lesson 2
Today’s Plan
■ Discuss Chapters 1-2 of Sensoy & DiAngelo (taking a critical stance & social justice
education).
Warm-up Discussion
■ What concepts or terms from the homework reading did you find
difficult or confusing?
■ What does it mean to take a critical stance? (see p. 1)
■ What is social justice education?
Taking a Critical Stance
■ Sensoy & DiAngelo define a critical stance as one that operates “from the
perspective that knowledge is socially constructed and that education is a political
project embedded within a network of social institutions that reproduce inequality”
(2017, p. 1).
■ What do the authors mean when they say that “knowledge is socially constructed”?
– See Sensoy & DiAngelo, page 32
■ Recalling the news articles that we read in last week’s class, how might education in
Japan be framed as a “political project within a network of social institutions that
reproduce inequality”?
Social Justice Education
■ “The ultimate goal of social justice education is to enable us to recognize structural
inequalities in ways that prepare us to change them” (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2017, p. 2).
■ “Mainstream culture prevents us from understanding a central tenet of social justice
education: Society is structured in ways that make us all complicit in systems of
inequality; there is no neutral ground” (p. 4).
■ The first step to engaging with social justice education is recognizing this tenet.
■ Next, we can attempt to step back, analyze the systems of inequality around us, and
think of ways to affect positive change.
Five Guidelines for Engaging with a
Social Justice Approach
■ Discuss with your group:
– What are Sensoy and DiAngelo’s five guidelines for engaging with a social
justice approach?
– Which guidelines do you think will be the easiest for you to follow? Which will be
the hardest?
Guideline 1: Strive for intellectual
humility
■ Avoid willful ignorance.
■ Recognize that all branches of academia are, to some degree, value-laden and subjective…
■ …but we have tools to reduce subjectivity (peer review, critical thinking)
■ Beginners must grapple with concepts:
– Carefully read assigned material
– Ask about confusing terms or concepts in class
– Look for connections between terms and concepts
– Prioritize understanding over agreement
– Practice posing questions
– Be patient!
Guideline 2: Recognize the difference
between opinions and informed knowledge
■ “Expressing our opinions simply rehearses what we already think and doesn’t require us to
expand, question, or go beneath our ideas” (p. 9).
■ Opinions should of course be shared, but also examined and reflected upon.
■ To move beyond previously held opinions…
– Reflect on your reasons for pursuing higher education.
– Recognize that you do not have to agree with concepts in order to learn them.
– Practice posing open-ended questions instead of closed ones.
– Practice developing quality questions (“Under what conditions…?”, “To what
extent…?”).
Guideline 3: Let go of anecdotal evidence
and look at broader societal patterns
■ Believing anecdotes represent or predict a pattern is fallacious (weak induction).
■ Exceptions don’t disprove the rule: they illustrate it.
■ Ask yourself…
– How can a critical framework expand my understanding?
– Am I able to identify larger patterns in an individual situation?
– Do I recognize my own positionality?
Guideline 4: Notice your own defensive reactions
and use them as entry points for gaining deeper
self-knowledge
■ Negative reactions can teach us something about ourselves.
■ If you have a negative reaction, practice asking…
– How do these ideas challenge the way I see the world?
– How have I been shaped by the issues contained in this idea?
– What about my race/class/gender/ability might make this idea difficult to validate?
– What does my reaction reveal about what I think is at risk if I accept this idea?
– If I were to accept this idea as valid, what will be required of me ethically or morally?
Guideline 5: Recognize how your social position
informs your perspective and reactions to your
teacher and course content
■ “Positionality is the concept that our perspectives are based on our place in society.
Positionality recognizes that where you stand in relation to others shapes what you can see
and understand” (p. 15).
■ Recognizing positionality helps us see the social construct underneath our knowledge.
■ You can…
– Stay attentive to your positionality when you encounter a new idea or information.
– Recognize the perspectives inherent in a text or piece of media.
– Think about the interplay between your own position and the positions of others (e.g.
the teacher and your classmates).
Critical Theory in a nutshell
■ Critical Theory maintains that “society is structured in ways that marginalize some to
the benefit of others” (p. 27).
– To what extent do you agree with this idea? (Guideline 2!)
– How does your positionality affect your reaction to this idea? (Guidelines 4 & 5!)
Warm-down Discussion
■ Discuss the final question on page 34.
Homework
■ Read Chapter 3 of Sensoy & DiAngelo.
■ Finish your first learning journal entry by writing a thoughtful response to the
discussion question 4 on page 48 (“Many sociologists say that in part…”).
■ This should be 300-500 words.
■ Remember that there are no wrong answers! Only more or less thoughtful ones.
