In 2012 the author wrote about what a socially just system would look
like, and used the example of Finland Since then the already emergent
aspects of neo-liberalism within Finnish education have grown, as
privileged white parents increasingly demand privileged spaces within
comprehensive schools for their children. There are radical spaces
within education, but they, too, are usually the preserve of the
privileged within society, and so cannot be equated with socially just
spaces. What socially just education requires is that people from all
sections of society commit, and hold fast, to a notion of 'the common
educational good' that transcends individual or family self-interest.
This is at a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to persuade
those with the greatest power of choice in English society to see
themselves as sharing the same common interests and purposes as those
who are less privileged. Against this difficult context, this article
argues that it is more important than ever to fight for socially just
education.