Social Justice
The general belief that all people should have equal rights, opportunities, and treatment is the core of social justice. This general idea has shaped policy and practices internationally—as with the United Nations (2006), and professionally—as with the American Counseling Association (ACA) and American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Ethical Standards. Within these broad values are a “commitment to concentrate on diversity, confront the implications of oppression, learn and address the attitudes and behaviors that sustain oppression, and adopt an inclusive mindset” (National Education Association (NEA) Diversity Toolkit, 2017). Below is a range of resources in order to support school counselors’ efforts to engage in social justice practices in multiple ways that best meet the needs of our students and communities.
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National Education Association. (2017). Diversity toolkit: Social justice. NEA Teaching Strategies.
United Nations. Division for Social Policy. (2006). Social justice in an open world: The role of the United Nations. United Nations Publications.
CSCORE does not endorse any of the following research studies or resources. Instead, our goal is to present you with the latest research and interventions. It is up to you to decide if the study is reliable and valid.
Web Resources
Counselors for Social Justice works to promote social justice through confronting oppressive systems of power and privilege that affect professional counselors and clients, and to assist in positive change through the professional development of counselors. In the resource library, counselors can find guidance for working with multicultural populations.
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This resource is for your students. They can scroll through a list of advocacy campaigns and when they choose to take part in a campaign, they're not only making an impact, they're also entering to earn scholarships. Many of the current featured campaigns center around racial and social justice, as demonstrated by the example to the right. Students can simply select "Get Started" to learn more about a specific campaign and begin to take action for the cause.
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EduColor is a cooperative of motivated educators, parents, students, writers, and activists seeking to elevate the voices of public school advocates of color on educational equity and justice. Their list of resources features books, movies, and articles that help inform their work. These resources can be used in the classroom or as professional development for educators.
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Facing History and Ourselves: Educator Resources
Facing History’s resources address racism, antisemitism, and prejudice at pivotal moments in history, helping students connect choices made in the past to those they will confront in their own lives.
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A web resource created by a mom who wished to show her three sons that there is more to life than their own experiences. FBK compiles lists of children's books that span representation, featuring characters across race, ethnicity, gender, ability, religion and so much more, celebrating the diversity of experience not often seen in children's literature.
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Learning for Justice (Prev. Teaching Tolerance)
Learning for Justice provides free resources to help teachers and schools educate students to be active participants in a diverse democracy. Their emphasis on social justice and anti-bias is of particular use for a social justice-oriented school counseling program.
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NNSTOY's Social Justice Book List
The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) has compiled a social justice book list that organizes reading by grade level. While this list is not exclusive to racial justice, it does offer excellent book recommendations for racial justice and may provide you with resources for other social justice education as well.
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Social and Cultural Literacy Resources for Classrooms
A collection of resources for social justice and equity-focused educators.
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An excellent web resource that not only outlines the psychology of prejudice, but provides a number of resources from recommended reading, demonstrations and exercises, syllabi and lessons for educators, and a list of organizations attuned to every social group. The
website has information and resources for topics that span ableism, heterosexism, and anti-semitism, among others.​​​​​​
Journal Research Articles
NEW PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND ADVOCACY STRATEGIES FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS: A MULTICULTURAL/SOCIAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVE TO MOVE BEYOND THE NICE COUNSELOR SYNDROME
Bemak, F., & Chung, R. C. Y. (2008). New professional roles and advocacy strategies for school counselors: A multicultural/social justice perspective to move beyond the nice counselor syndrome. Journal of Counseling & Development, 86(3), 372-381.
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SCHOOL COUNSELORS AS SOCIAL JUSTICE LEADERS: AN INNOVATIVE SCHOOL-FAMILY-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP WITH LATINO STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
Betters-Bubon, J. J., & Schultz, J. W. (2017). School counselors as social justice leaders: An innovative school–family–community partnership with Latino students and families. Professional School Counseling, 21(1b), 2156759X18773601.
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GROUP WORK THAT EXAMINES SYSTEMS OF POWER WITH YOUNG PEOPLE: YOUTH PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH
Cook, A. L., & Krueger-Henney, P. (2017). Group work that examines systems of power with young people: Youth participatory action research. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 42(2), 176-193.
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STRENGTHENING SCHOOL-FAMILY-COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGH COMMUNITY DIALOGUES
Cook, A. L., Shah, A., Brodsky, L., & Morizio, L. J. (2017). Strengthening school-family-community engagement through community dialogues. Journal for Social Action in Counseling & Psychology, 9(1), 9-37.
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A PERSONAL JOURNEY IN PROMOTING SOCIAL JUSTICE AS A SCHOOL COUNSELOR: AN ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH
Dowden, A. R. (2010). A personal journey in promoting social justice as a school counselor: An action research approach. Journal of School Counseling, 8(24), n24.
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SCHOOL COUNSELORS' STRATEGIES FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE CHANGE: A GROUNDED THEORY OF WHAT WORKS IN THE REAL WORLD
Singh, A. A., Urbano, A., Haston, M., & McMahan, E. (2010). School counselors’ strategies for social justice change: A grounded theory of what works in the real world. Professional School Counseling, 13(3), 2156759X1001300301.
Topics: Explore Further
Disability Justice
​Bialka, C. S., & Havlik, S. (2020). Understanding Elementary and Middle School Counselors' Experiences with Disability Awareness and Advocacy. Journal of School Counseling, 18(25), n25.
“This qualitative study uses the American Counseling Association (ACA) Advocacy Competencies as a lens to understand how six school counselors raise disability awareness within the context of social justice advocacy.”
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“As organizers, we need to think of access with an understanding of disability justice, moving away from an equality-based model of sameness and “we are just like you” to a model of disability that embraces difference, confronts privilege and challenges what is considered “normal” on every front.”
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Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (documentary)
This documentary explores the disability justice movement and accessibility legislation via a group of disability rights activists that came out of the 1971 Camp Jened summer camp in New York.
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Mia Mingus on Disability Justice (interview)
An interview with Mia Mingus, disability justice advocate, in which she discusses disability justice and collective liberation.
Ten Principles of Disability Justice, Sins Invalid
A document outlining the 10 principles of disability justice, including intersectionality, solidarity, and sustainability.
Gender Equity
​Evans-Winters, V. E. (2017). Flipping the Script: The Dangerous Bodies of Girls of Color. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, 17(5), 415–423. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532708616684867
“Girls of color have been left out of discussions on youth participatory action research (YPAR) as well as gender- and race-based scholarship related to school marginalization. How Black girls and other girls of color experience girlhood is undertheorized. In this particular discussion, high school girls themselves expose the ways in which girls are punished in schools. Using participatory action research (PAR), high school students unveil girls of color experiences in schools as ‘dangerous bodies’.”
Leaper, C., & Brown, C. S. (2018). Sexism in childhood and adolescence: Recent trends and advances in research. Child development perspectives, 12(1), 10-15.
“Sexism in many Western, technological-industrial societies is expressed in more complex ways in the 21st century than it was in the past. Cultural shifts have led to much progress toward gender equality, but narrow definitions of gender expression continue to be reinforced. Developmental research has highlighted the continued impact of sexism on children's and adolescents’ development. In this article, we review recent work on sexism in three areas: gender identity and expression, gender disparities in academic achievement, and sexual harassment and sexualized gender stereotypes.”
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Wilson, M., Gwyther, K., Swann, R., Casey, K., Featherston, R., Oliffe, J. L., ... & Rice, S. M. (2022). Operationalizing positive masculinity: a theoretical synthesis and school-based framework to engage boys and young men. Health Promotion International, 37(1).
Queer & Trans Justice
DESE Guidance for Massachusetts Public Schools Creating a Safe and Supportive School Environment
Critical information for schools to reference and abide by, including guidance about student name changes, confidentiality, and more.
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​Model District Policy on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students
A model policy by GLSEN for supporting transgender students, meant to be adapted to the unique needs of various school districts.​
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Singh, A. A., & Jackson, K. (2012). Chapter seventeen: Queer and Transgender Youth: Education and Liberation in Our Schools. Counterpoints, 367, 175–186. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42981399
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Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource by and for Transgender Communities (Schroth, 2022)
A guide by and for gender expansive people, including art, personal narrative, essays, and more, as well as a resource for counselors, teachers, friends, and loved ones to learn about transgender life from those with lived experience.
“A legal resource guide that covers the rights of trans youth across such a wide spectrum of situations, including identity documents, school, health care, non-affirming care environments, and work.”
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Welcoming Schools: Resources for Gender and LGBTQ+ Inclusive Schools
A site by the Human Rights Campaign to help educators in creating a school culture which wholly supports students of all gender identities, including best practices for bathroom access, working with unsupportive parents, and more.
Racial Justice & Racial Healing
WEB RESOURCES
20 Picture Books that Embrace Race
Embrace Race's list of children's books aims to engage the broad range of emotions and needs of diverse children in our multiracial society.
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106 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice
While this Medium article may be written for the white audience, the ideas listed apply to everyone. The page is continually reviewed and updated for relevance and accuracy. Find ways to fight against the prison-industrial complex; educate yourself on how to advocate for criminal justice reform; learn how to fight for racial justice both as an individual and as part of a community.
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Black Lives Matter Instructional Library
An interactive Google Slides presentation that organizes books for students on activism and advocacy, self love and empowerment, and black history (also offers books in Spanish). Each book is linked to a narrated version of the text.
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Books To Teach White Children and Teens How to Undo Racism and White Supremacy
Charis Books & More provides this list of children's books for families, particularly white families, to discuss race and racism early. Having books around the house or classroom that facilitate conversations about diversity will help to ensure healthy, conscious children develop with the knowledge of racial injustice around them.
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Building Equitable Learning Environments Network (BELE)
The BELE network is a collaborative of nonprofit organizations dedicated to the advancement of equity within the education system. Their website offers a framework for their mission in addition to resources like the equitable learning library that connects educators and parents to resources and recommendations for creating a more equitable learning environment.​​
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Civil Rights Teaching is an online collection of lessons and resources for teachers that highlight the contributions of everyday, though often little known, civil rights leaders. Empowering young people to search deeper than the stories of only the most well known heroes, CRT enables youth to see themselves in the powerful and courageous actions of people just like them.
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(Divorcing) White Supremacy Culture
A primer on White Supremacy Culture–what it means, how it is perpetuated by individuals and by systems, and how to challenge it.
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This website is a helpful student-focused resource with a list of advocacy campaigns that students can participate in.
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EduColor is a cooperative of motivated educators, parents, students, writers, and activists seeking to elevate the voices of public school advocates of color on educational equity and justice. Their list of resources features books, movies, and articles that help inform their work. These resources can be used in the classroom or as professional development for educators.
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The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement (Ginwright, 2018)
Ginwright offers an opportunity to reimagine what counselor practitioners and educators mean when we say “trauma informed care,” a phrase that has become increasingly watered down. Instead, Ginwright advocates for an approach that centers the healing, autonomy, and strengths of youth​​
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National Museum of African American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture provides free resources to educators, parents, and those dedicated to social justice focused on topics like the foundations of racism in the US, efforts towards anti-racism, and how to build communities.
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NNSTOY's Social Justice Book List
The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) has compiled a social justice book list that organizes reading by grade level. While this list is not exclusive to racial justice, it does offer excellent book recommendations for racial justice and may provide you with resources for other social justice education as well.
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This 5-part podcast series turns a critical eye toward the ever-influential force of white parents in public education. Looking at history spanning across decades all the way to the present, Nice White Parents unearths deep inequity embedded within the modern educational system.
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Primer on a Healing Justice Framework
A framework that operates in opposition to the medical model of healing, the Healing Justice Framework seeks to build a shared language and commitment to healing practices that center collective liberation. Invaluable for counselors working to reimagine paradigms of treatment and recovery.
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Rethinking Schools provides timely and justice-oriented materials for educators in an effort to contribute a more liberatory perspective to the field, challenging the status quo upheld by traditional educational materials.
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When SEL is Used as Another Form of Policing
How do traditional notions of SEL actually uphold and train youth into dominant white culture? In what ways has SEL been weaponized against BIPOC youth whose behavior transgresses the sometimes narrowly defined set of social and emotional norms deemed appropriate by white eurocentric standards?
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Unconscious Bias: An Educator's Self Assessment
This resource helps educators understand their own biases and steps to take once they're identified. The final step described is to increase one's exposure and knowledge through books. Find below further reading resources that may be of use when developing your book list. ​
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Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race
Infographic that outlines the progression of child awareness of own and other racial identity aimed to make adults understand that children are never too young to discuss race. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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JOURNAL ARTICLES
Brooke Harris Garad (2021) Fugitivity, Fantasy, Futurity, and Freedom: The Letter F for Critically Analyzing Children’s Literature, Equity & Excellence in Education, 54:2, 182-195, DOI: 10.1080/10665684.2021.1951630
Offering invaluable considerations for elementary educators, this piece asks and answers questions about the importance of identifying children’s literature that centers themes of fugitivity and freedom, and how such a critical analysis effectively responds to generations-long calls for depictions of Black culture in children’s books.
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Ieva, Kara P.; Beasley, Jordon; and Steen, Sam (2021) "Equipping School Counselors for Antiracist Healing Centered Groups: A Critical Examination of Preparation, Connected Curricula, Professional Practice and Oversight," Teaching and Supervision in Counseling: Vol. 3 : Iss. 2 , Article 7. https://doi.org/10.7290/tsc030207
“This paper highlights the potential for school counselors to promote antiracist practices and racial healing engagement utilizing small group counseling to ultimately eliminate inequities in schools.”
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Mia Sosa-Provencio, Magdalena Vázquez Dathe & Omkulthoom Qassem (2021) Tueresmiotroyo/You Are My Other Me: An In-The- Flesh Ethic of Care Centering Body and Emotionality as Speaking Subjects Fostering Dignity, Interconnection, and Racialized Healing, Equity & Excellence in Education, 54:3, 271-284, DOI: 10.1080/10665684.2021.1995534
“This research highlights the pedagogy of three diverse high school Ethnic Studies educators who teach predominantly low income youth of color. Findings reveal a life-giving, political In-the-Flesh Ethic of Care (IEC) infusing critical, culturally relevant ethics of care with pedagogies and epistemologies situated in the Brown and Black body,” (Provencio, et al. 2021).
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Romero Walker, A. (2021). Using critical media literacy to create a decolonial, anti-racist teaching philosophy. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 13(2), 86-93. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2021-13-2-7
Though geared towards educators in the higher education setting, this piece offers theory and content translatable to the K-12 setting. Walker urges educators to take an active role in adjusting their pedagogy to center anti-racism via adoption of a critical media literacy framework.
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BOOKS​
Teaching for Black Lives provides a critical framework for educators to draw from for creating curriculum and organizing their classrooms in alignment with a decolonial approach.
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Gurin, P., Nagda, B. R. A., & Zúñiga, X. (2013). Dialogue across difference: Practice, theory, and research on intergroup dialogue. Russell Sage Foundation.
Presenting data, research, and a compelling argument about the many benefits of intergroup dialogue as a tool for liberation both within and beyond various educational settings.
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Holcomb-McCoy, C. (Ed.). (2021). Antiracist counseling in schools and communities. John Wiley & Sons.
“Readers will learn how to define an antiracist approach to their work and behavior; proactively address racial incidents in schools; create college and career readiness systems for students of color; and apply antiracist perspectives to K-12 counseling practice, counselor professional development, school-family-community partnerships, counselor training programs, and counseling supervision.”​​​
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The Racial Healing Handbook (Singh, 2019)
A workbook offering practical and thoughtful activities and readings to catalyze personal racial healing, growth, and transformation. Useful both for personal work, as well as for conceptualizing racial healing work with students and colleagues.
Undocumented & Immigrant Justice
Learning for Justice Resource Guide: Supporting Students from Immigrant Families
A broad overview of how educators can support immigrant students and families, including specific steps that school communities can take to protect undocumented community members.
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School Counselors’ Role in Helping Undocumented Students Move Beyond College Enrollment
This article examines the differences between college enrollment and college completion for undocumented students, and provides recommendations for school counselors and educators in preparing students for this transition.
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Undocumented Students in High School: Supporting Access to Higher Education
This article describes some of the common challenges faced by undocumented students in pursuit of higher education, and how educators can support these students in achieving their long-term goals.
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Ways Counselors and Educators Can Help Undocumented Students Succeed
This website provides an overview of what it means to be undocumented, and how school counselors and allied education professionals can support these students in achieving their goals and remaining safe while pursuing their education.​​​​​​
Youth Liberation & Justice
Bertrand, M., Brooks, M. D., & Domínguez, A. D. (2020). Challenging Adultism: Centering Youth as Educational Decision Makers. Urban Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085920959135
“Grounded in the concept of adultism and the tradition of storytelling, we address the following question: How can educational researchers and practitioners challenge the adultism that constrains youth’s participation in school- and district-level educational decision-making? We share stories about our experiences in urban schools, considering adultism at the interactional, institutional, and curricular levels.”
Oto, R. (2023). “This is for us, not them”: Troubling adultism through a pedagogy of solidarity in youth organizing and activism. Theory & Research in Social Education, 1-29.
“This article explores how young people organize and enact democratic practices within youth-mediated contexts in schools by examining the pedagogy of solidarity that adults must enact to support youths’ visions of democratic life. This qualitative study examines youth organizers’ response to the murder of a Black man in their community and how adults acted in solidarity or against their civic action.”
Keri DeJong & Barbara J. Love (2015) Youth Oppression as a Technology of Colonialism: Conceptual Frameworks and Possibilities for Social Justice Education
Youth oppression is a facet of liberation work that is both deeply understudied, and often overlooked in conversations about educational justice. Yet the ways in which youth oppression and colonialism, white supremacy culture, and the school to prison pipeline are intertwined represent a critical nexus of power in need of exploration by educators and adults. In this piece, DeJong and Love offer a foundational primer for understanding this nexus, as well as implications for practice.