Education, Work and Employment
We explore social justice issues in education and employment.
We work with many educational institutions and employers to:
- increase our understanding of social inequalities
- devise initiatives and interventions to overcome these
Our research shows how children living in poverty are stigmatised in school, and what schools can do about it.
Professor Liz Todd and Dr Laura Mazzoli Smith’s work shows that pupils living in poverty may suffer stigma at school. This can be as much a barrier to learning as poor teaching.
Analysing a ‘poverty proofing’ audit
Four million children now live in poverty in the UK. The United Nations’ Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty demonstrated the government’s refusal to recognise the impact of austerity on the poor. So it is not surprising that some schools are funding children and young people’s basic needs, such as food, clothes and sanitary products.
But schools have unintended policies and practices that stigmatise or marginalise poorer children.
Our research analysed Children North East’s audit process. This process figures out what a school needs to do to remove barriers to learning as a result of child poverty.
In this ‘poverty proofing’ audit, children and staff talk about times when they have seen how poverty affects the school day. This enables an action plan to be drawn up and implemented. Their research suggests how schools could remove an array of barriers to learning. This would improve conditions in school for disadvantaged pupils. Most teachers had a clear desire to improve school practices.
Working in partnership with Children North East, Professor Todd and Dr Mazzoli Smith's work shows the importance of research on the lived experience of children.
Poverty proofing
They found that the poverty proofing audit helped to challenge the beliefs of school staff about families in poverty.
For example, children reported always knowing which of their peers received free school meals by:
- lists on classroom walls
- till registers
- the tell-tale brown paper bags for packed lunches on out-of-school trips
Some children always stayed away from school on non-uniform days due to the pressure on parents to provide expensive outfits. They found that schools had little sense of how much money families were being asked for across the whole school year.
“Children North East estimates that Newcastle University research has helped their audit reach more than 10,000 children and enable them to benefit from the work of poverty proofing, reducing stigma.”
- Professor Liz Todd is Professor of Educational Inclusion at Newcastle University and Dr Laura Mazzoli Smith is Assistant Professor in the School of Education, Durham University
We consider social justice to be a mainstream issue for leadership and management education.
Organisations of all types face common challenges, such as:
- scarce resources
- the impact of shifts in global economic power
- rapid technological change
- the inclusion of a diverse workforce
Business schools have a role to play in developing leadership capacity to navigate these grand challenges. They can also support organisations to foster environments for innovation and sustained performance. Such environments place integrity, humanity and social justice at their centre so that everyone is able to contribute and to thrive.
Supporting North East Leaders for Social Change
The Leadership Development and Organisation Futures Team at Newcastle University Business School works alongside the business community. We harness, produce and transfer knowledge about leadership through:
- connecting business with world-leading researchers
- creating and supporting collaborative spaces for various voices to be heard
Over the past four years, we have supported North East Leaders for Social Change. This is a collaborative space in which leaders come together for inspiration, knowledge exchange and mutual support. Engagement with the network enables us to contribute to the social and economic growth of the region. It connects our students to their wider potential as global citizens. It shapes our research to meet the leadership challenges in all types of organisation.
As educators, we take our responsibility for preparing the leaders of the future very seriously. Engagement with today’s social leaders ensures that we base our thinking on real-world challenges. This provides the possibility to contribute to real-world change.
“Social justice principles enable diverse, innovative and sustainable workplaces and thriving communities. Business Schools cannot be neutral on these issues.”
- Dr Joanne James is Reader in Leader Development and Organisation Futures
There is an urgent need to improve policy coherence within the United Nations (UN) system.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) brings together governments, employers and workers across the UN member states. In June 2008, it adopted the Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation as one of its defining statements of principles and values. The Declaration promotes an integrated approach to social justice in the global economy. It is premised on the four strategic objectives of the ILO’s Decent Work agenda:
- employment
- social protection (social security and labour protection)
- social dialogue
- tripartism
The Declaration promotes a more coherent approach to key policy issues. This will help to deliver the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Addressing challenges for the global economy
The 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation promotes a more coherent approach to key policy issues. The approach is mutually supportive and sustainable. The issues challenge the functioning and growth of the global economy in the 21st century:
- jobs
- labour mobility
- equity
- social inclusion
- human security
The Declaration invites a closer and more policy coherent approach to social justice. This approach is timely, as the international community addresses the challenges posed by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The ILO has promoted Decent Work as a focused, cross-cutting agenda for greater policy coherence within the UN system. UN organisations desire to work more closely with the ILO for more inclusive and sustainable growth. But a rigid focus on core mandates continues to favour a ‘silo mentality’. This hinders cooperation.
Decent Work provides a much-needed platform to show the central importance of social justice to sustainable development, and to a global economy still struggling with the economic and social costs of financial and sovereign debt crises.
“Policy coherence remains a significant challenge within the UN system, and one that must be addressed if the 2030 Agenda is to achieve its ambitious goals.”
- Professor Stephen Hughes is Professor of International Organisations at Newcastle University Business School