The Full Collection of Justice in Schools Case Studies

Beyond Varsity Blues: Merit, Wealth, and College Admissions in an Era of Hyper-Inequality

This case examines the influence of family wealth on college admissions in the wake of the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal. While bribery is plainly unethical, the moral status of other instances where families spend money to help their children...

Taking the Action Out of Civics?: Polarized Debates over Civic Education

Snapshot: Civic education is increasingly a hot-button topic in a polarized nation. After introducing a project-based civics curriculum in which students take action to create change, a school leader faces pushback from teachers, as well as disagreement...

Seeing Green

Snapshot: This case explores the challenges of teaching about climate change in a community where a large portion of the residents work in the petroleum industry. Should science teachers accommodate local concerns about the dangers of demonizing the very...

School Choice

Snapshot: This case explores the dilemma many well-resourced parents face in choosing a school for their child. Should they opt for their local public school, investing their economic, cultural, and political capital into the public school system open to...

Picking Battles

Snapshot: This case presents an opportunity for educators and administrators to open up dialogue on the matter of guns in school, with emphasis on the question of arming teachers. It highlights a number of stakeholders and points of consideration around...

Special Religious Education vs. Philosophy Based Ethics in Australian Primary Schools

Snapshot: In 2011, government schools in New South Wales, Australia began offering philosophy based ethics courses as an alternative to courses in religious education. This case probes the ensuing debate and surveys the diversity of ethical claims made by...

Refusing the Test: Debating Assessment and Accountability in Public Education

Snapshot: A school principal is asked to respond to growing numbers of parents opting their children out of state tests. How should she balance these parents’ concerns with other parent viewpoints supporting assessment, her own professional obligations...

General F***ups and College Admissions

Snapshot: This case probes the ethical challenges that admissions officers at elite schools face in the age of social media. Should all of a young person's online history be open for scrutiny? How should admissions officers balance the recognition that...

Underqualified and Overwhelmed: Accommodating a Student with Special Needs in a Student-Run After School Program

Snapshot: For months, college students who run an after-school program have struggled to manage the challenging behaviors of a child with disabilities. As volunteers with no special education credentials and little training, can and should they continue...

SEALing Off Central High: What are Schools’ Obligations in a Social Media World?

Snapshot: A group of teachers and administrators grapple with how to discipline a student who posted a nasty meme on a classmates social media feed. Should sharing a violent meme be treated differently than other violent speech?

The Job Search

Snapshot: Towards the end of her Masters in Teaching, a preservice teacher grapples with whether or not to accept a job offer to teach at an urban charter school and discusses what it means to teach for social justice with a group of her colleagues.

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Punishing Choices

Snapshot: A teacher in a new community struggles with whether or not a family's disciplinary choices constitute abuse. And - if she does indeed think that one of her students is being abused - is calling a dysfunctional DCS going to make things better for...