Open AccessThe Role of Education for Democracy in Linking Social Justice to the ‘Built’ Environment: The Case of Post-Earthquake Haiti
Author(s) -
Paul R. Carr,
Gary Pluim,
Gina Thésée
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
policy futures in education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 16
ISSN - 1478-2103
DOI - 10.2304/pfie.2014.12.7.933
Subject(s) - democracy , context (archaeology) , sociology , economic justice , environmental justice , social environment , social justice , environmental ethics , social science , public administration , political science , politics , law , geography , philosophy , archaeology
The manner in which the built environment is constructed has a tremendous effect on the degree to which health, wealth and social outcomes are distributed within a society. This is particularly evident when a crisis of the natural environment affects the built environment, as was the case after the Haitian earthquake of 2010. Understanding the consequences of the earthquake as socially precipitated rather than a natural occurrence requires a paradigm shift, a project for educational policy, pedagogy and epistemology. In particular, education for democracy in its broadest sense can serve to re-align thinking towards understanding the connection between the built environment and social justice. In this article the authors present their research with teacher-education candidates and the candidates' perspectives and experiences of education for democracy at a Canadian university. In relating these perspectives to the possibilities for contextualizing the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, the authors propose educational policy solutions that highlight a thick democracy, social justice, the role of context and history, and a more concrete connection with public health.