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Abstract
This manuscript style dissertation consists of four articles that explore the phenomenon of attending to social justice issues through learning design and research. The first three articles are the results of research conducted in a Research Practice Partnership (RPP) with a rural public school system. The purpose of the project was to support teachers in engaging students in the history of their community through place- and project-based, humanities lessons. The first article provided an initial understanding of the practices and perspectives of teachers around teaching sensitive issues of the history of the community, including slavery and civil rights. The second article focused on the theory and practice behind the design of the place-based approach to humanities education. We identified three learning strategies taken-up by teachers to support this approach including: the personalization of history, historical perspective taking, and modeling a critical position. The third article presents a conceptual contribution, rooted in my experience in the RPP, on what accountability is and what it may look like in learning design from a critical perspective. In particular, we focused on the practices of self-reflection, critical perspective-taking, and dialogic communication, and the ways these supported my own accountability during my work on the RPP. The fourth article took a broader look at the phenomenon of centering social justice in the field of LDT, using multiple case study to look across scholars as they negotiated issues of social justice in their professional practice. We found the process of centering social justice is dynamic and relational. Attending to social justice in learning design and research requires a reflexive, reflective approach situated within understandings related to designer positionality and power dynamics.