| dc.description.abstract | The author of this thesis uses grounded theory methodology to illuminate pre-service
teachers’ understandings of social justice concepts, theories, and perspectives at the beginning of
their teacher education programs. Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of inequity, marginalization,
and deep systematic oppression, and how these perceptions are influenced by their positionalities
and inform their views of social justice education, are explored. Such an exploration involves an
analysis of how inequality, power, and privilege are embedded within social structures and
perpetuated through socialization in educational contexts. In analysis of their experiences shared
through online surveys, the author uncovers multiple complexities in pre-service teachers’
understandings of social justice and social justice education. While the majority of participants
felt a moral responsibility to engage in social justice education, their conceptualization of such
concepts was heavily influenced by discourses of tolerance and individualism, both of which
serve to perpetuate social injustices. Recommendations for teacher education programs are
provided in an attempt to increase pre-service teacher understanding of social justice, and their
roles and responsibilities in relation to social justice in their future work as educators. | en_US |
