Axiology Sample Clauses

Axiology. Social justice and critical hope The values that inform this research are drawn broadly from theories of social justice, including feminist research, critical race theory, queer theory and intersectional social justice research. What that list means for this thesis, in short, is that this research has been organised for the explicit purposes of investigating a problem, such that it might be better understood and, potentially ameliorated. I started the research from a PES practitioner’s perspective, I was aware that the area that I and my colleagues worked in was not particularly inclusive and set out to explore why. Over the course of the project, while mapping the ways in which non-participation in PES worked from the perspective of the research participants I realised how problematic many PES practices were. However, I remain persuaded by arguments from hooks (1994) and Xxxxxx (1992), as presented in Chapter 2, that cultural, educational and political engagement in practices like PES remain powerful ways to empower individuals and communities, and combat marginalisation, and continue to hope this research will help create PES concepts and practices that are more inclusive and equitable. Indeed, as Xxxxxx argued, “critical hope” (1992, p. 8) alone cannot solve social problems, but it is a necessary precondition of attempts to understanding and resisting patterns of structural inequality. Although the work of Xxxxxxxx on the social reproduction of disadvantage, augmented by an intersectional understanding of social positions and marginalisation, has formed the theoretical backbone of this research, it is important to understand why structural disadvantages are problematic. While Chapter 2 reviewed these in more detail, in axiological terms, arguments about social justice in terms of inclusion and politics by Xxxxx (1990a), Benhabib (1996) and Xxxxxx and Xxxxxxx (2003) have informed much of this research. These authors all highlight the value of inclusion into political, education and cultural systems. Furthermore, as Xxxxx has argued, exploring, acknowledging and understanding exclusion and marginalisation can be used to disrupt the reproduction of social disadvantage (2000). Theorists of social justice have influenced not only the substance of this thesis, but also the research design and conduct of the research, including a participatory approach to the research and relationships between the researcher and research participants, as will be discussed furt...