Turkish Secondary Education Students’ Perceptions of Justice and Their Experiences of Unjustice

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify how secondary education students define the concept of justice, based on which criteria they define their experiences as just/unjust, what they see as the source of injustice, how they feel and how they behave when they face injustice.This study was designed as a qualitative research study. Open-ended questions were asked to the students and they were asked to give detailed answers. Descriptive analysis was used in analysing the collected data. The study group consisted of students studying at 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades in different types of high schools (Anatolian High School, Vocational School for Girls, Science High School). A total number of 268 high school students participated in the study. We used convenience sampling to choose the study group.The results of the study indicated that students defined the concept of justice with the "equality, equity non-discrimination, respect, rights and freedoms, conscience, rights, deciding the right, being fair and needs" concepts. The students see grades, school rules and non-communication they experience with their teachers and principals as unjust, so they point the school principals as the source of injustice. Besides, the students indicated that they had negative feelings when they experienced something that is not just but preferred to stay silent.

Advocacy Duty of School Psychological Counselors from the Viewpoint of School Principals and Teachers

“…Branch teachers stated that passing grade level system applied by Ministry of National Education, different implementations of schools about dress regulations, different or inconsistent behaviors of teachers or principals about implementing rules, some privileged students because of their families or close relationships with school administration are main unfair implementations they observe in school environment. Observations of branch teachers especially about clothing and privileged students are consistent with findings of Tarhan (2018a) in her study conducted with students. In other words, both teachers and students have a consensus about unfair implementations experienced in schools and the subject matters of these implementations.…”

“…Statements of teachers point up that students experience unjust treatment in fields of distributive, procedural and interactional justice in schools. This finding seems to support research findings of Tarhan (2018a). Tarhan (2018a), in her study found that secondary education students give examples of injustice they experience as; grades, school/educational material (distributional justice), clothes, school rules (procedural justice) and lack of communication, favoritism (interactional justice).…”

“…This finding seems to support research findings of Tarhan (2018a). Tarhan (2018a), in her study found that secondary education students give examples of injustice they experience as; grades, school/educational material (distributional justice), clothes, school rules (procedural justice) and lack of communication, favoritism (interactional justice). In study of Tarhan (2018b), school psychological counselors stated that students come to them with complaint of experiencing unfairness and listed subjects of complaints as; clothing, grades, use of mobile phones, unhealthy communication between administrator-teacher-student, negative attitudes of teachers and principals (different sense of humor, behaving differently to male and female students, ignoring faulty of successful students, etc.…”

School Counsellors’ Perceptions of School Justice and Awareness of Advocacy Duties

“…Some students consult school ccounsellors to reveal their problems kindly, but others might be very aggressive, verbally and behaviorally. Aggressive students sometimes do self-harm or disturb the classroom environment, damage school properties and create problems for the teacher, which overlaps with the findings of Horan, Chory, and Goodboy (2010) and Tarhan (2018). Both studies revealed that unfairly treated students experienced negative feelings such as sadness, anger, despair, anxiety, rage, and hatred, and they were alienated from school.…”

Analisis Gimik Ketidakadilan Melalui Pendidikan Berbasis Literasi Kritis Di Sekolah Dasar

“…Keasyikan utama pendidikan literasi kritis adalah dengan ketidakadilan sosial dan bagaimana mengubah lembaga yang tidak adil dan menindas menjadi lebih demokratis (Burbules, N. C. & Berk, 2008). Selain itu penelitian (Tarhan, 2018) juga menyimpulkan bahwa dalam proses pembelajaran siswa perlu memiliki pemahaman mendalam tentang konsep keadilan dan ketidakadilan, serta bagaimana mereka mengalaminya dalam kehidupan sehari, bagaimana perasaan mereka dan bagaimana mereka berperilaku ketika mereka menghadapi ketidakadilan.…”