Citizenship, Inclusion and Democracy

In Citizenship, Inclusion, and Democracy, six expert contributors explore the conceptual and empirical significance of the work of leading contemporary political philosopher, Iris Marion Young, and her work in the field of education.

• Illuminates the discussion about the centrality of public education.
  
• Explores the idea of an inclusive, publicly mandated, system if education by looking at the topics of citizenship, group-based politics, social justice, difference, democracy, equality, and inclusion in education.
  
• Includes a thorough introduction from editor Mitja Sardoc, and a response essay from Iris Marion Young.

Foreword vii
Michael A. Peters

Introduction 1
Mitja Sardoč

1 Education and the Politics of Difference: Iris Young and the Politics of Education 5
Avigail Eisenberg

2 Multiculturalism and Citizenship: A critical response to Iris Marion Young 23
Ronald Beiner

3 Iris Marion Young and Political Education 37
Elizabeth Frazer

4 Democracy, Social Justice and Education: Feminist Strategies in a Globalising World 55
Penny Enslin

5 Towards a Contextualized Analysis of Social Justice in Education 67
Sharon Gewirtz

6 Iris Marion Young’s Imaginations of Gift Giving: Some Implications for the Teacher and the Student 81
Simone Galea

7 Education in the Context of Structural Injustice: A symposium Response 91
Iris Marion Young

Notes on Contributors 103

Mitja Sardoč is researcher at the Educational Research Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he is currently engaged in research projects on citizenship education, school autonomy, inclusion and equal educational opportunities. His research focuses on political theory and philosophy of education. He has edited a number of journal special issues on citizenship education and has interviewed some of the most renowned contemporary political philosophers on the topic of education and political theory, including Michael Walzer, Iris Marion Young, and Martha C. Nussbaum. He is Executive Editor of Theory and Research in Education and chief regional editor for Europe of the Journal of Citizenship & Teacher Education. Citizenship, Inclusion, and Democracy explores the conceptual and empirical significance of the work of leading contemporary political philosopher, Iris Marion Young and her work in the field of education. In the past two decades political philosophers have begun to investigate normative theorizing in both educational theory and the philosophy of education, raising awareness in these previously neglected areas. Now, prevailing in the areas of theory, research, policy, and practice, these subjects take center stage in the debate about the profound impact of normative theorizing on education, examining the issues of supporting a publicly mandated system of education that remains open to all students within a particular society, regardless of differentiating circumstances and characteristics, as well as the development of equitable provisions for diverse groups.

In this monograph, six expertly written essays discuss the importance of Young’s theoretical work and critical social analysis on the topics of differentiated citizenship, group-based politics, social justice, difference, democracy, equality, and inclusion, with particular focus on the educational import of these issues. Concluding with a reply from Young, this collection illuminates the discussion about the centrality of public education in a modern, pluralistic society.