Justice and particularly social justice are concepts that underpin democracy and human rights education. Social justice has increasingly been connected to global dynamics and to other (global) relevant concepts, namely human rights education (e.g., Agartan, 2014; Banai, Ronzoni, Schemmel, 2011a; Department Of Economic And Social Affairs. Division for Social Policy and Development, 2006). Furthermore, this concept has increasingly been used throughout educational settings and actors (Darling-Hammond, French, & Garcia-Lopez, 2002).

Generally speaking, social justice refers to a just distribution within societies of wealth, opportunities, and privileges. More specifically, social justice can be defined as “principles that set stringent limits to permissible socioeconomic inequalities, even if not all of them require strict equality” (Banai, Ronzoni, Schemmel, 2011b, p. 59). In everyday life settings are embedded opportunities to explore, experience and learn more about social justice and how everyone is responsible for building a world with a just and equitable distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges within societies. 

Hackman (2005) defines “social justice education to include student empowerment, the equitable distribution of resources and social responsibility, and her processes to include democracy, a student-centered focus, dialogue, and an analysis of power. Social justice education does not merely examine difference or diversity but pays careful attention to the systems of power and privilege that give rise to social inequality, and encourages students to critically examine oppression on institutional, cultural, and individual levels in search of opportunities for social action in the service of social change” (p. 104). The author further suggests five essential components for social justice education: 

1. Content mastery; 
   
2. Tools for critical analysis; 
   
3. Tools for social change; 
   
4. Tools for personal reflection; 
   
5. Awareness of multicultural group dynamics.
   

First, to participate in positive and proactive social change, students must have access to broad and deep levels of information on local, national and global issues that society currently faces and historical contextualization, learning how to critically examine content and effective dialogue about it with others. However, content mastery alone is insufficient to create democratic and empowering education. A careful and critical consideration of issues of oppression, power and privilege is needed to provide deep knowledge and a pathway to action. Ultimately, ongoing and critical self-reflection helps creating an effective social justice educational and empowering environment. In this way, social justice education can empower and encourage children to act, participate, express and defend their and each other’s rights as part of their everyday citizenship. Moreover, effective social justice education recognizes group dynamics as explained by constructed social identities and multicultural perspectives (Hackman, 2005). Overall, education for social justice enables children to learn:

• how interconnected we all are
• how to challenge dualisms
• how to value differences
• how to think critically about the world and the communities where we live
• how everyone can be a part of creating a world with greater justice, equity and human rights for all.