ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by stating that there exists a conflict of ideologies between education and social justice and this conflict is a global one. Internationally recognised student performance indicators such as the Programme for International Student Assessment provide a very public stage for countries to measure their academic attainment against. Social class is the strongest predictor of educational achievement in the UK, where the social class gap for educational achievement is one of the most significant in the developed world. Children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds arrive at school less prepared for formal education and are frequently less equipped to build upon the rich environments for early learning in pre-school. Teacher education for social justice is ‘a learning problem as well as a political one’ according to American writer Marilyn Cochran-Smith. Teachers in many curriculum subjects have found innovative ways to teach for equity and justice.
