What promotes justice in, for and through education today?

Abstract

I am delighted to present this special issue, which sets out to explore, challenge, and re-think topical questions concerning justice and education today. This issue contains eight cutting-edge articles that in different ways demonstrate sensitive methodologies when researching the link between justice and education. In doing so, all articles touch upon new ways of thinking the promotion of justice in, for and through education today. The topic of justice and education is of course not new. From ancient times, philosophers have drawn attention to the link between justice and education. To Aristotle, the purpose of education was political, as education should introduce in each generation the type of character that will sustain the constitution. To Plato, the aim of education was goodness, as he conceived education as vital to the well-being of human society. Moreover, throughout modernity, education was the twin sister of political philosophy. From Rousseau and Kant, through Schleiermacher, and up to Durkheim and Dewey, numerous philosophers have written entire books on education. ‘ . . . within the political and philosophical discourse of modernity virtually no notable theorist of democracy has failed to offer a systematic contribution to educational theory’ (Honneth 2015, 18). Today, however, there is a decoupling between philosophy and education. Contemporary political philosophy does not engage with education. On the contrary, issues concerning justice and education are today totally abandoned by philosophy (Honneth 2015). It is thus left to the academic