Social Justice and Physics Education

A critical look at the history of physics—both in the field as a whole and in the pedagogical choices—elucidates why it is necessary to pay attention to social justice in physics education. Physicists have a longstanding aim toward objectivity and often deny the effects of culture on the field and its participants. In this chapter, we provide an overview of research and curriculum development on equity and social justice in physics and include examples for addressing the injustice present in the field today. We illustrate how instructors can introduce and integrate discussions of equity and social justice into physics curricula. We also share an example of how concepts in physics (e.g., optics) can be used to support students in identifying inequities and injustice (e.g., overrepresentation of blue eyes). To be clear, this work does not argue for a dichotomized teaching of social justice and physics. Instead, we call for the utilization of a social justice lens in teaching physics and the exploration of physics concepts to identify and address issues of inequity that exist within and outside of the field of physics.