The Social Justice Special Interest Group Mission:
The mission of the Social Justice Special Interest Group (SJ-SIG) is to champion the principles of equity, inclusion, and diversity within the realms of Health, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. We are dedicated to fostering a collaborative space of support where all individuals are valued, respected, and empowered to thrive, ensuring that our educational and scholarship practices reflect and promote social justice and democratic values. Based on the work done by scholars in the field, the SIG’s secondary mission is to provide alternative perspectives of socially just forms of praxis within Health, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy through considering the entangled connections of the social, political and material conditions of inequalities in both fields and their implications.
Purposes of the SIG
The Social Justice Special Interest Group (SJ-SIG) aims to facilitate communication and collaboration between educators, researchers and practitioners dedicated to ensuring that Health, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy opportunities are accessible and beneficial to all learners, particularly those from low-income, Indigenous, and other marginalized backgrounds.
Recognizing the inequities in the field of physical education and sport pedagogy, the SJ-SIG supports research and practice aimed at reducing these inequalities, by challenging, disrupting, and transforming, dominant and oppressive discourses. The SIG seeks to develop and promote strategies that enhance equity and inclusion within our field, and call in or call out inequity and exclusion, ultimately contributing to more just and equitable environments for all learners.
Major Goals of the SIG
By fostering a collaborative network of educators, researchers, and practitioners, the SJ-SIG major goals are:
- Facilitate Pioneering Research and Dialogue: Actively encourage and support both empirical and theoretical research that explores and integrates social justice within educational practices. Our goal is to address the unique challenges and opportunities presented by diverse contexts, fostering a robust exchange of ideas and findings that drive progress in Health, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy.
- Challenge and Transform Oppressive Discourses in Health, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy: Advocate for and support research and initiatives that critically interrogate and challenge neoliberal, sexist, racist, homophobic, and other marginalized and intersecting discourses within Health, Physical Education Teacher Education & Sport Pedagogy. We aim to dismantle these harmful narratives and promote a more socially just and equitable educational environment.
- Advocate With and For all Marginalized Groups: Dedicate our efforts to improving educational outcomes for learners from low-income, Indigenous, and other marginalized backgrounds. We focus on promoting effective strategies that address and reduce inequities, ensuring that all learners have the opportunity to succeed and thrive.
- Inform and Influence Policy and Practice: Actively work to influence policies and practices within AIESEP by providing comprehensive support for the integration of social justice principles into the organization. Our goal is to embed these principles into the core of educational and organizational practices, driving systemic change that benefits all stakeholders.
- Challenge ‘happiness scripts’ in Health, Physical Education and Sport: Challenge discourse and invite practitioners and scholars to explore forms of frustration, silence, anger, pain and helplessness, via pedagogic efforts to address (un)happiness (e.g., caused by bad things/traumatic lived experiences in life – racial oppression, war, gender violence’) in the context of social justice education.
- Advance Critical Human Rights Education and disseminate within the community the value and principles of pedagogies of friendship, care, hope, and love. These efforts aim to build new relationalities, alliances, and affections that transcend traditional structures, borders, and predetermined social norms and expectations. By fostering solidarity and action-oriented empathy, we seek to create a more inclusive and compassionate society.
Leadership responsibilities:
Chair, who leads the SIG and takes overarching responsibility of the SIG.
Shrehan Lynch, slynch@uel.ac.uk
Chair-Elect who is the Secretary and Communications Coordinator, who will lead on the communications to the members within the SIG. The Chair-Elect also stands in for the Chair as and when they are needed.
Marina Castro García, marina.castrogarcia@ul.ie
Our Discord Community Rules:
We are an anti-fascist, anti-racist group. We won’t tolerate any form of prejudice, whether it’s Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, or misogyny. Direct & Indirect Threats – Threats to other users and other malicious threats are absolutely prohibited and result in banning.
️ Be Patient and Compassionate: Social justice work involves unlearning and growth, which can be challenging. Be patient with yourself and others as we navigate this journey together. Be gentle on each other’s level of understanding. We don’t want anyone to be put off because they’re made to feel inadequate.
Inclusive Language: Use inclusive and gender-neutral language whenever possible. Avoid assumptions about people’s identities or experiences.
Trigger Warnings: Use trigger warnings (TWs) or content warnings (CWs) for sensitive topics that might be triggering to some members. Clearly mark such content at the beginning of your post.
Respect each other’s privacy. Please do not ask others to share personal information on the channel. Do not slide into each other’s DMs unsolicited.
Lastly, please take care of your mental health, and feel free to mute notifications or disappear for a while if you need some time out.
Report Issues: If you see something that violates these rules, report it to the group admins (Shrehan & Marina). We rely on the community to help maintain a safe and supportive environment.
These rules aim to foster a supportive and educational environment where everyone can feel safe and empowered to participate in social justice discussions. Let’s work together to create a positive and impactful community.
*Note* If you would like to add to these rule(s) let us know!
