Justice, a Condition For Learning

Can we really learn when something doesn’t feel fair?

I’ve been thinking about justice as a condition for learning.

Not justice in a grand or abstract sense.

But the everyday experience, a feeling that sticks with us and makes us say:

I am treated fairly.

My voice matters.

The rules make sense.

I am respected.

My needs are understood and met.

Does it not feel good when we feel this sense of justice?

Offcourse it does!

Research into classroom justice suggests that learners’ experiences of fairness are connected with motivation, engagement, classroom climate and their responses to learning (Peter & Dalbert, 2010; Rasooli et al., 2019; Grazia, 2025).

And importantly, fairness isn't necessarily the same as treating everyone equally.

Classroom justice research identifies different dimensions of fairness, including how outcomes and opportunities are distributed, how decisions and procedures are made, and how learners are treated in their interactions with others (Rasooli, Zandi & DeLuca, 2019; Rasooli et al., 2019).

It is increasingly becoming clear in research that justice isn't something that sits outside learning. It is part of the environment in which learning becomes possible. Sometimes, treating people fairly means recognising that they need different things to have a meaningful opportunity to participate.

A child who needs additional support.

A learner, at any stage, who needs clearer assessment criteria.

An adult learner who needs to understand why a decision has been made.

A recent longitudinal study of secondary students found that increases in perceived teacher justice were associated with smaller increases in amotivation. Teacher support, clarity of assessment criteria and equity in the distribution of resources were among the practices associated with perceptions of greater justice (Grazia, 2025).

And research with adolescents has also examined classroom justice alongside peer support in relation to academic engagement and disaffection (Gao et al., 2025).

So whether we are five, fifteen or fifty, how we experience the environment around us may influence whether we feel able to participate, ask questions, take risks, make mistakes and keep going when learning becomes difficult.

Which makes me wonder:

What happens to learning when a learner feels that something is unjust?

And perhaps an even more interesting question:

What does justice look like in the everyday learning environments we create for children at school and at home AND for adults in different organisations?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What is one thing a teacher, leader, parent or an organisation can do to make a learning environment feel more just?

References

Gao, Q., Zhou, Y., Zhang, L., Wang, C., Yang, Y., Liang, W. & Zhang, Y. (2025). *Longitudinal effects of peer support and classroom justice on academic engagement and disaffection among Chinese adolescents: A mediation and multigroup analysis.* British Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4), 1001–1022. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.70021

Grazia, V. (2025). *Teacher justice and (A)motivation: A longitudinal study in secondary school.* Social Psychology of Education, 28, 142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-025-10105-w

Peter, F. & Dalbert, C. (2010). *Do my teachers treat me justly? Implications of students' justice experience for class climate experience.* Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35(4), 297–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.06.001

Rasooli, A., DeLuca, C., Rasegh, A. & Fathi, S. (2019). *Students' critical incidents of fairness in classroom assessment: An empirical study.* Social Psychology of Education, 22(3), 701–722. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-019-09491-9

Rasooli, A., Zandi, H. & DeLuca, C. (2019). *Conceptualising fairness in classroom assessment: Exploring the value of organisational justice theory.* Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 26(5), 584–611. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2019.1593105

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