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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

To reduce that [wealth and political power] gap, [assistant professor of education at Iowa State University] Katy Swalwell says it's necessary to look at whether the education system is part of the problem and unintentionally reproduces inequalities. She spent a semester observing social studies classes at an affluent, private school to examine how privileged students learn about and respond to social justice problems. The majority of students at the school - 86 percent - are white, and tuition is more than $30,000 a year. The results of her case study, published in the journal Curriculum Inquiry, emphasize the disconnect that exists between student perception and reality.
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The goal of many social justice educators is to disrupt the status quo and challenge students' perceptions of why inequalities exist, Swalwell said. Many of the students she observed, however, were "fundamentally undisturbed" by what they were learning, despite the teacher's intentions. Swalwell included excerpts from student interviews in her paper that capture the general response.

One student told Swalwell: "I think [learning about injustice] can only help because we can reference it and sound really cool for saying it if people recognize it. Otherwise, we can help educate people on the things we learned about that maybe they didn't have the opportunity to learn about. Or, we just know it and that's great for us. Either way there's no downside to knowledge."

Throughout the semester, the teacher introduced students to various perspectives - both liberal and conservative - on civic engagement and social justice reform. The school also offered a social activism program, which required students to get involved in causes such as LGBTQ rights, issues facing incarcerated women, religious tolerance and reforming drug policies. Swalwell documented class lectures, discussions and field trips, analyzed course material and assignments, and conducted interviews with the students and teacher.

Most students expressed genuine concern about inequalities, but connected the problems to individual shortcomings rather than systematic disadvantages. Instead of seeing their privilege as part of the problem, several students saw their wealth and status as a solution; a way to make a difference, Swalwell said.

"The majority of students saw their role as that of a 'benevolent benefactor' who simply needed to be generous and to do good deeds," Swalwell wrote in the paper. "These kinds of responses maintain or even threaten to widen the civic empowerment gap by endorsing personally responsible or participatory models of citizenship."

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