Equity and Social Justice in the CCR Framework
CCR was started in 2012 with the goals of reshaping the “What” of Education in the context of economic and social justice/equity issues, which are being amplified by new technologies (AI, Biotech etc.) and planetary-wide problems (global warming, pandemic, etc.). Through its work, CCR:
- Provides students with the skills to tackle any social justice issue or equity issue that happens to come along in the next several years.
- it is adaptive and flexible because it focuses on the core skills needed to interact with the world — instead of focusing too much on the way the world currently looks at this exact moment
- Addresses the root causes and the symptoms (proactive and reactive)
- Stanch the bleeding, then figure out what is causing it
- Helps people in all situations, as we all have intersectional identities that place us with varying levels of privilege depending on the context
Please download CCR’s paper on Equity & Social Justice
Equity and social justice are addressed at three levels of the framework, to insure inclusion:
1) embedded in the design flow of learning objectives/standards, alongside modernized context, essential content, core concepts, and competencies:
2) embedded in the Interdisciplinary Themes:
| Interdisciplinary Themes | Relevant Concepts |
| Environmental Literacy | Environmental injustice eco-fascism |
| Global Literacy | Cultural competence Appreciation for diversity Moving against ethnocentrism |
| Civic Literacy | How laws and policies shape our worlds and assumptions |
| Information Literacy | Big data: sifting through massive amounts of information Bias: identifying bias in information Application: using the information effectively and ethically |
| Digital Literacy | Access to technology is an issue of equity Technology rapidly advances, equitable solutions tend to lag |
3) embedded in the Competencies themselves:
| Competency | Competency Description | Applications for SJ/Equity |
| CREATIVITY | The process of producing ideas and artifacts that are both novel to the individual and useful in response to a stimulus |
the ability to imagine a world that is different than the one you inhabit thinking outside the box to tackle complex issues |
| CRITICAL THINKING | Manipulating information (through e.g., organization, analysis, synthesis) to facilitate processes such as decision-making, interpretation, and reflection |
identifying and dismantling the “filters” through which you see the world learning how to hear information that contradicts your own beliefs hearing different perspectives and embedding them into your own worldview understanding how the world around us was deliberately built for certain bodies |
| COMMUNICATION | A bi-directional process wherein all participants are actively listening, asking questions, and using any and all methods of communication available to them in order to effectively communicate their or understand the other’s message |
active listening is a powerful way to engage with those around us and to begin to unlearn our biases nonverbal or paralingual communication can often communicate our implicit or explicit biases |
| COLLABORATION | A process of effectively co-laboring working with others to produce something greater than the sum of what any of the individuals could have produced alone |
making sure everyone’s voice is heard creating an equitable design and creation process empathizing with teammates |
| MINDFULNESS | Awareness of one’s thoughts and feelings, developing strategies to regulate them, and cultivating presence & positivity. |
being aware of your emotional or gut reaction to hearing information or opinions that contradict your own beliefs we are fighting so many psychological factors and instincts, so being emotionally and mentally aware of those reactions is critical |
| CURIOSITY | The drive to seek new experiences or deeper understanding |
Issues of social justice and equity are complex. Only by seeking to understand deeply can we hope to disentangle overlapping and intertwined systems of oppression Humans — aided and abetted by algorithms — naturally create echo chambers. It is important to burst these bubbles and see the world for how it actually exists. |
| COURAGE | The strength to realize one’s goals and values while withstanding fear or difficulty |
standing up for yourself and standing up for others overcoming fear of social repercussions or discomfort in order to enact your values |
| RESILIENCE | The ability to overcome any form of adversity using mental, emotional, and social skills and supports | the fight against oppression can be overwhelming and it is rarely gratifying… resilience helps us persevere and keep working |
| ETHICS | The ability to identify ethical components of a situation and navigate that situation in a way that reflects one’s values |
developing a moral compass and a personal value system understanding that other people have different value systems and are coming from different situations and perspectives |
| LEADERSHIP | A process that includes both leader(s) and follower(s) achieving a larger goal or aim, guided by the environment/context — not the individuals. |
understanding the ethical weight of leadership recognizing the power you have as a follower being cognizant of power dynamics and group roles |
| METACOGNITION |
The ability to reflect on one’s own mental processes to choose relevant strategies for accomplishing tasks and solving problems. Monitoring the strategy in real time and adapting them accordingly The ability to reflect on one’s knowledge and thought processes to plan, execute and monitor the progress of a chosen strategy and then evaluate its effectiveness in accomplishing the task or solving a problem. |
being aware of your implicit and explicit biases and internal processes changing your mental processes to be more equitable |
| GROWTH MINDSET | The belief that human capacities are not fixed but can be developed over time through hard work, good strategies, and input from others. | believing you can change and believing others can change and grow |