Social Justice

Provides students the opportunity to understand and explore how to contribute to positive change in support of child wellbeing in a contextually appropriate and sustainable way for children, youth, families, communities, and nations. Facilitates engaged action-oriented change with children, youth, families, communities, and nations by drawing on leadership skills, systems mapping, and identifying levers of change. Considers different methodologies for research, monitoring, evaluation, learning, as well as programming skills (evidence, data, and decision-making); participatory, creative and play based approaches to engaging children and youth in navigating their way to wellbeing; and change and reform promoting approaches (problem-driven iterative adaptation and similar approaches, fostering institutional changes).

Identifies and applies theoretical and practical foundations for the identification of problems in justice studies and their solutions. Emphasizes the collaborative nature of knowledge generation and the growing interdependence among disciplines for the resolution of complex justice-related problems. Introduces individuals’ role as a bricoleur —a person who uses all available material—in the search for justice. 

Examines the concept of justice from non-western, Indigenous perspectives and the development of indigenous perspectives for realizing justice. Includes an historical account of the treatment of Indigenous people, governmental interventions and social movements aimed at improving justice for Indigenous people. Refers to national and international agendas for resolution of long standing issues identified by the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.