Competing notions of social justice and contradictions in special education reform

In the past three decades, special education has been subjected to extensive critique and reform of practices. These critiques have been based on notions of social justice and equity. However, the field has suffered from inadequate attention to assumptions about social justice. Social justice is essentially a contested concept. Rather than representing a unitary and universally shared concept, social justice has variable meanings. Differing views of social justice can be seen to underlie apparent contradictions in continuing practice in response to pressures for reform. Reforms predicated on individual rights have been undermined by deep commitments to meritocratic practices in U.S. schools. Reforms based on more communitarian principles, however, ignore the need for structure and the tendency for communal values to marginalize people with disabilities. Special education reform today requires a different basis in a relational definition of the self, structures to support the qualities of relationships, and a belief in the mutability of social justice.

The geography of reported domestic violence in Brisbane: a social justice perspective

Police call data and court data are used to map the incidence of reported domestic violence in Brisbane. These data are correlated with low family income, unemployment and a measure of multiple disadvantage (an Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage) for each Statistical Local Area (suburb) in Brisbane. Only the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage is a statistically significant predictor of reported domestic violence. The finding of a significantly higher incidence of reported domestic violence among relatively worse-off families is investigated within a social justice context. A measure of multiple relative disadvantage is shown to better reflect the negative impacts of structural inequalities on families in explaining the reported occurrence of domestic violence.

Disabilities, justice and the new eugenics of gene therapy

Eugenics is a difficult matter for discussion because, even as a term, it has fallen into disrepute. Yet a eugenic mindset pervades the discourses of reproduction and genetics in the West. I utilise the futures scenario of gene therapy to explore conceptually how the intersecting trajectories of science and religion make a new eugenics possible. The problematic of an inherent elitism within these sources, combined with a quest for power, leads me to renew the call for an adequate moral space within which to explore the requirements of social justice.

Tracks of Change - the changing value commitments of non-profit organisations

If nonprofit organisations are moving towards more market oriented ways of operating, is this changing the traditional meanings and value of commitments associated with their activities? This article discusses the findings of a research project conducted by the University of Queensland into the impact that changes in government policies are having on the community services sector, in particular disability services. The values and belief systems traditionally associated with the sector were found to be fundamentally unaltered.

Australian empirical study into genetic discrimination

This paper outlines a major empirical study that is being undertaken by an interdisciplinary team into genetic discrimination in Australia. The 3-year study will examine the nature and extent of this newly emerging phenomenon across the perspectives of consumers, third parties, and the legal system and will analyze its social and legal dimensions. Although the project is confined to Australia, it is expected that the outcomes will have significance for the wider research community as this is the most substantial study of its kind to be undertaken to date into genetic discrimination.

Residential and lifestyle changes for adults with an intellectual disability in Queensland 1960-2001

As we celebrate 50 years of the Schonell Special Education Research Centre it is timely to consider changes that have occurred in the provision of residential services for people with an intellectual disability. Before the 1970s adults and children were cared for in large institutions using a medical model of care. In the mid-1970s a new developmental model based on education and training was implemented in response to the principle of normalisation and issues of social justice. The most dramatic changes have occurred in the last ten years with the decision to close large institutions and relocate residents into ordinary homes in the community. This paper describes changes in lifestyle for adults with an intellectual disability as a result of the move from institutional to community residential service provision. The Challinor Centre in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia provides examples of lifestyle changes that have occurred under different models of service provision during this time. Community living is described with research evidence validating the advantages of this type of service provision for residents with an intellectual disability. Outcomes have been documented through the use of group results and a case study of one individual following deinstitutionalisation describes the benefits of this new model of residential accommodation

Third sector in transition - A question of sustainability for community service organizations and the sector?

Third sector organizations are transitioning towards entrepreneurial and managerial models as a result of quasi-market strategies. This paper reports on the research findings of a survey of nonprofit disability organizations in Queensland and Victoria impacted upon by quasi-market reform. Enterprising organizations were found to have made substantial change to organizational structures and systems, whilst more traditional organizations made few changes. All organizations demonstrated commitment to a social justice ethos. However across the organizational archetypes there were reports of an organizational 'fragility'. It is argued that the problems of sustainability of community service organizations that existed prior to quasi-market reforms remain. This implies community service organizations will experience ongoing difficulties in the post-market era without further rationalization and change. A conceptual framework for sustainability of the community service sector is presented at the policy and organizational level.

Highlighting hybridity: A critical discourse analysis of teacher talk in science classrooms

There is evidence that alienation from science is linked to the dominant discourse practices of science classrooms (cf. Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values. Norwood, NJ: Ablex). Yet, in secondary science education it is particularly hard to find evidence of curriculum reform that includes explicit changes in pedagogic discourses to accommodate the needs of students from a wide range of backgrounds. However, such evidence does exist and needs to be highlighted wherever it is found to help address social justice concerns in science education. In this article, I show how critical discourse analysis can be used to explore a way of challenging the dominant discourse in teacher-student interactions in science classrooms. My findings suggest a new way of moving toward more socially just science curricula in middle years and secondary classrooms by using hybrid discourses that can serve emancipatory purposes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals. Inc.