Introduction
Rurality has recently emerged as a powerful concept embraced by scholars, development advocates, and political activists globally. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the concept rurality has been vigorously contested, largely because of the colonial baggage that persists to weigh heavily on national development policies and social interventions. In development discourse, rurality is synonymous with poverty and underdevelopment. Thus to eradicate poverty is a social justice concern that has to go hand in hand with addressing the problems of the rural areas. Education in its broadest sense is identified as the engine for rural development (HSRC 2005) and a weapon for individual advancement (Mandela 2003) with the capacity to leverage rural poverty and enhance the associated social ills. This book is a compilation of theoretical and empirical studies conducted by education researchers committed to an understanding of the diverse conceptions of rurality and their implications for education and social justice in Sub-Saharan Africa. Premised on the close association between social justice, rurality and education, the book sets to illuminate the possibilities and constraints of social justice in diverse educational contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cloke’s (2006) exhortation would equally apply to conceptualisations of rurality in diverse educational contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cloke (2006) attests that different theoretical frames of rurality illuminate very different pictures of rurality and indeed steer rural research policy and practice [our emphasis] down very different pathways (p. 19). Of critical concern in this volume are the social (in)justice implications of conceiving rurality in particular ways. Thus, we acknowledge the ambivalent character of certain framings of rurality in education contexts (Corbett 2007) which may implicitly propagate injustice and rural underdevelopment.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the political/colonial antecedent connotes images of rural injustice and marginalisation. This is partly so because colonial structures, including education, were founded on racial inequality and, consequently, injustice. Thus theorising rurality in education remains incomplete without invoking conceptions of justice in the broad sense. The notion of social justice is littered with contestations, as is the concept of human rights. While different schools of thought endeavour to define and delimit social justice, a universal consensus on the all-encompassing definition has not been reached. Human rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , have delivered an internationally approved compilation of principles and standards by which to assess and redress inequality. The original documented ideas of social justice pertained exclusively to a particular people or nation with the goal of remedying the influence of classified inequalities and the predominantly inherited inequalities.
From the classical times, Plato (380 BC) suggested that justice was attained when each person obtained goods they merited based on their set position in society. Aristotle (384–322 BC) was of the view that justice was a principle that safeguarded social order by controlling the allocation of benefits although he differed with the Platonic view in that for him, equality and justice applied only to individuals who occupied the identical layer of the hierarchical social order. Such a position thus views social justice as underscoring unequal distribution of resources based on what individuals ought to have with respect to their social status or position in society. Conversely, the traditions of some of the world’s great religions, among them Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, highlighted universal concepts of justice signifying sharing, equal treatment, not profiting at the cost of underprivileged groups in society and the ills of avarice. In the nineteenth century, Karl Marx argued that the background of injustice is founded in the political-economic structures based on subjugation, discrimination, exploitation and privilege, thereby dismissing the Hobbesian view that human competition, selfishness and aggression cause social injustice. Justice, in this sense, would succeed once individuals obtained what they demanded on the basis of their humanity instead of what they deserved because of their social class, origin or productivity.
Social justice is incontrovertibly founded in order to thwart and discourage conditions that pursue the marginalisation and segregatory practices pervading societies. It is rooted in the ancestry of the Greek theories of justice and the ideas of two prominent Enlightenment philosophers, Kant and Rousseau, that social justice mirrors ideas of equality, which is deemed a necessary condition of democratic participation. Borrowing from the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality of all humankind that have become the bedrock of current democratic principles, social justice enjoys a variety of facets that entails the equal redistribution of socioeconomic amenities, as well as the recognition and promotion of difference and cultural diversity. The pluriversal conceptions of social justice enlarge the agenda of such justice, the complexity and multiplicity of which has been an issue of concern throughout modern civilisation (Gewirtz 2002, p. 499).
When counterpoised in relation to rurality, social justice sits uncomfortably in education. In postcolonial African education, the interdict to transform presupposes admission of previous policies and practices of inequality and injustice. Yet, education transformation and currently decolonisation attends to other categories such as race, gender, disability, and epistemological access but often precludes rurality. If rurality is invoked, issues of difference and diversity are concealed. For example, in this volume, a rural learner in higher education is adjudged successful in as far as he/she has assimilated and embodied urban-university culture and knowledge (Gwavaranda [Chap. 9 Volume 2]; and Ndofirepi and Maringe [Chap. 10, Volume 2]). Anything of rural assemblage has to be expunged from his/her mentality.
There are notable absurdities and overt and covert disparities and inequities between urban and rural communities that continue to invade the provision of and access to resources and social amenities including education. Social justice should thus be appreciated as a humanising process and a rejoinder to human diversity expressing ability, socioeconomic circumstances, choice and rights (Hlalele 2012). It is thus an attempt at taming and remodelling individual and institutional structures embedded in rural deficit models. The notion of social justice has connections and affiliations with notions of human and socioeconomic rights, social inclusion, equity and access to resources and capabilities for human well-being (see Hlalele 2012; Singh 2011, p. 482). It thus reiterates the opportunities function as Wilson-Strydom (2014) observes that, “When we consider issues of justice or injustice, we cannot merely ask whether different people have achieved the same outcome, but rather, whether different people have had the same opportunities to achieve this outcome” (p. 151).
From the foregoing, one can discern common themes that emerge when exploring different views on social justice in both historical and contemporary thinking about the concept. The approaches to social justice reflect an amalgam of ideas with a focus on:
- Collective effort to redress systemic/structural poverty, inequality and unfairness
- Fair redistribution of resources
- Equal access to opportunities and rights
- Ability to take up opportunities and exercise rights
- Protection of vulnerable and disadvantaged people
At the individual level, social justice involves allowing persons what they deserve in terms of their status by emphasising an individual’s social position as a basis of the portion of resources an individual merits. It also invokes moral responsibility on the part of the individual in terms of the behaviour of those who are poor, excluded or disadvantaged. Social justice equally calls for a recognition of human value and well-being beyond status and economic productivity just as it takes cognisance of individual capability with an eye on the personal characteristics that enable people to take advantage of opportunities available to them.
We can thus identify a just society as one that understands and values human rights and the dignity of all human beings. Social justice can thus be defined as a normative concept revolving around the principles of fairness, equality, equity, rights and participation. Equality is a fundamental principle of social justice as it allows all fair access to resources and entitles all people, regardless of their gender, race, age, class, language, religion, or occupation to benefit from society’s public goods. Hence social justice and human rights converge as they both advocate and enforce an even distribution of resources in the world. Social justice, which encompasses a concern for both joint and individual rights and obligations, plays a crucial role in protecting people with limited capacity to claim their human rights. The equity principle of social justice arises from an appreciation that equal or uniform distribution is not always fair, and thus it implies appropriate treatment in line with the principles of fairness and equal opportunity for all. It foregrounds the endeavour to eliminate or defeat the impediments that hamper certain individuals and groups from fulfilling their potential, by augmenting their chances for development. The rights principle of social justice encompasses legal rights and moral rights, including basic human rights, liberties and entitlements. Participation in the realm of social justice means including people in the decisions that govern their lives and also ensuring their full participation in political and cultural life in order to ensure better distributive outcomes and consolidate democracy. Jost and Kay summarise that,
Social Justice is a state of affairs (either actual or ideal) in which (a) benefits and burdens in society are dispersed in accordance with some allocation principle (or set of principles); (b) procedures, norms and rules that govern political and other forms of decision-making preserve the basic rights, liberties, and entitlements of individuals and groups; and (c) human beings are treated with dignity and respect not only by authorities but also by other relevant social actors, including fellow citizens. (Kay and Jost 2010, p. 1122)
The institutionalisation of impediments that hinder the participation of some members as full partners in social interaction is the concern of Nancy Fraser’s theory of social justice. For her, the recognition of all members of society is a matter of justice (the right) rather than axiology (the good) because certain forms of misrecognition deny persons “the status of full partners in social interaction simply as a consequence of institutionalised patterns of cultural value in whose construction they have not equally participated” (Fraser 2009). Hence, considering recognition as a matter of justice means treating it as an issue of social status in which actors can either be social peers with mutual relations of equality, or they suffer from status subordination via misrecognition. Fraser’s three-dimensional view of social justice, viz. justice-economic redistribution, recognition and representation is therefore fundamental in the provision of insights challenging and troubling the social structures that enable material inequality. A conceptualisation of rural social justice in education in Africa as constructive provides a broader agenda as it also encompasses the notion of collective human agency, signposting human emancipation as closely intertwined with individual liberation. By escalating the theory to education in Africa, the book attempts to address the puzzle: how can we defend a socially just education system that necessitates the observance and prizing of diversity, accommodation and tolerance of all learners, creation of equal opportunities and the promotion of the capabilities of all learners?
Multiple perspectives of rurality and social justice are foregrounded in the 22 chapters that comprise this two-volume book. The editors did not wish to be prescriptive in conceptualisation of rurality and social justice but rather accepted divergent conceptions of the social justice and rurality in multiple education contexts as reflected in the chapters included in the two volumes. The editors solicited chapters from scholars invested in rurality and social justice in education in Africa. The resultant compilation comprises work on Education Management and Policy Studies, Inclusive Education, Philosophy of Education, History of Education, Gender Studies and Development Studies, all with a committed focus on rurality and social justice.
Volume 1 is titled ‘Rurality, Social Justice and Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Theory and Practice in Schools’ and has 11 chapters with a focus on theoretical and practical perspectives on rurality and social justice in school contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa. Volume 2, titled ‘Rurality, Social Justice and Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Theory and Practice in Higher Education’ has 11 chapters made up of theoretical and empirical studies conducted by education researchers committed to understanding diverse conceptions of rurality and their implications for higher education and social justice in Sub-Saharan Africa. Premised on the close association between social justice, rurality and education, the two volumes are set to illuminate the possibilities and constraints of rural social justice in diverse educational contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Synopsis of the Different Chapters in Volume 1
Alfred Masinire and Amasa P. Ndofirepi’s Chap. 1, titled ‘Rurality and Social Justice in Africa: Encoding Key Debates’, unpacks the question: What is distinctive about rurality and social justice in education in Africa? While rurality is a global geographical feature and social justice a universal value as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, in Africa they argue that colonialism and the current postcolonial moment provide a unique texture of rurality and social justice in educational settings. The violent inauguration of western modernity in most African countries created opportunities for social advancement for those who resided in urban areas while at the same time opening up large pockets of poverty and underdevelopment in rural areas (Mngomezulu and Mngomezulu, Chap. 3 in this volume). Current rural development interventions grapple with how to make even the enduring social, economic and educational inequalities that permeate rural communities. There are multiple and divergent conceptions of rurality that steer development agendas, research and even education provision in different directions. Education is deeply implicated in social justice and rural development because of the assumed social benefits that derive therefrom. The authors discuss and highlight the multiple and divergent meanings of rurality and social justice in education with a particular focus on Africa, while concluding that many conceptions of rurality are driven by deficit notions of r...