Education and Social Justice: A Study of Universities in India, South Africa and the United States of America

How far has education been successful in achieving social justice? Studies on higher education approached the questions of social justice as an independent theme. This study explores the contested themes and perspectives to understand the social justice mechanisms in higher education institutions in India, South Africa and America. The objectives of the paper are first to understand the social justice mechanisms in the national education policy documents in India, South Africa and the United States of America; second, to study the role of affirmative action/ reservation policies in higher education and its implications for social mobility. The paper, based on a review of tools of social justice policies, submits that race, caste, gender, disability, and region play a critical role in shaping the patterns of mobility and social justice. The study argues that the ecology of higher educational institutions also shapes forms and practices of inclusion and exclusion in education systems. Based on the in-depth interview with students of historically marginalized communities, the paper argues that proactive state policies have the potential to shape the life worlds of first-generation learners. For the historical margins, affirmative policies in higher education are the potential source of social mobility.