Examining student and faculty attitudes in developing a social justice studies minor

Social justice in education is becoming a more prominent and necessary area of study in higher education. Facets of social justice align directly with values of liberal arts education, and students who are exposed to social justice pedagogy develop the knowledge and skills necessary to meet critical learning outcomes associated with the liberal arts. Given such demands to incorporate social justice pedagogy and practice into curriculum, the purpose of this study was to understand student and faculty attitudes and values regarding social justice education in order to guide the creation of this academic program at our college, as well as other institutions, particularly liberal arts colleges and/or predominately white institutions, that are interested in creating or enhancing their social justice education programs. Themes from focus groups with students and faculty revealed needs, desires, and concerns from the campus community regarding social justice education. Additionally, we created a social justice studies program for our institution using a strategic review of existing curriculum, resulting in a new academic minor built on existing courses that required no new faculty lines and little additional work on behalf of the faculty. Insights from this process are shared.