Dr. Christopher Martin, Associate Professor, is hosting a Canadian Philosophy of Education Society seminar.
Chris England will be presenting on Equality and Educational Justice. In this session, England will analyze the concept of equality and its relevance to discussion of education justice. By “educational justice” he is referring to what students deserve regarding their compulsory education in liberal democracies. Some current approaches to justice in education focus on statistical inequalities of outcome. Outcome-based approaches are often concerned about equal participation across designated groups. Critics of outcome-based approaches advocate instead for equality of opportunity. Advocates for equality of opportunity tend to be more supportive of standardized testing or recruitment practices that focus on selecting for talent. England argues that both of these approaches to educational justice are misguided because they tend to see equality as educationally valuable, for its own sake. He argues that the solution to this debate is to abandon the concept of equality in fields of educational justice and advance more precise criteria about what students deserve. He argues that students in liberal democracies deserve access to the Razian conditions of personal autonomy: adequate life options, the skills to participate in them, and adequate independence.
Thursday, November 18
9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Via Zoom
The event is open for all to attend. While attendance is free, you still need to register to receive the Zoom link.
About the Speaker
Chris England is a high school English teacher working in Cranbrook, BC. He recently completed his MA with a thesis entitled Personal Autonomy and Educational Justice. His academic interests include topics of ethics, epistemology, values, social and cognitive science. His thesis, “Personal Autonomy and Educational Justice’, was awarded Best MA Thesis (2021) in the Okanagan School of Education, Faculty of Education (UBC).
About the Canadian Philosophy of Education Society Seminar Series
The Canadian Philosophy of Education Seminar Series aims to create a space to support in-progress work in the philosophy of education, provide opportunities for pre-tenure/early career and graduate students, and contribute to the cultivation of scholarly community. Anyone working at the intersections of philosophy and education are welcome to contribute to the series.
If you are interested in presenting a paper in future events, contact Dr. Christopher Martin at christopher.martin@ubc.ca.