Social Justice Activism

people. The criminal justice sector has a key role to play and a specific responsibility.
The RoL is considered to be fundamental to all aspects of society, both public and
private, shaping the way individuals interact with each other and with public institutions
in all sectors of society – forging relationships of trust and mutual accountability.
National education systems are responsible for upholding and advancing the principles
of the RoL so that future generations hold state institutions accountable to these
principles and equip learners with the knowledge, values, attitudes and behaviours they
need to take constructive and ethically responsible decisions in their daily lives that
support justice and human rights.
It is on this basis that trusted and trustworthy institutions are constructed.
Rule of Law Related to Education
Rule of law in education aims at teaching learners how they can acquire and develop
the cognitive socio-emotional and behavioral experiences and skills needed to develop
into constructive and responsible contributors to society. Experts believe education
plays a key role in transmitting and sustaining socio-cultural norms and ensuring their
continued evolution.
Formal education contributes to helping children and youth to adopt values, such as
behaviors, attitudes and roles that form their personal and social identity. As they
develop, children and youth also develop the capacity to reflect critically on norms, and
to shape new norms that reflect contemporary conditions.
Education encourages learners to value, and apply, the principles of the RoL in their
daily lives. It also equips learners with the appropriate knowledge, values, attitudes, and
behaviors needed to contribute to its continued improvement and regeneration in
society more broadly.
This can be reflected, for instance, in the way learners demand greater transparency in,
or accountability of, public institutions, as well as through the everyday decisions that
learners take as ethically responsible and engaged citizens, family members, workers,
employers, friends, and consumers etc.
Culture of Lawfulness Related to Education
Culture of lawfulness (CoL) in education is the notion of fostering the RoL to create
cultural and social conditions which respects and promotes the RoL.
A CoL means that the general population in a society follows the law because it
believes that it provides a fair and just response to the needs of individuals and society
as a whole. It also means that individuals’ expectations about the law and the justice
system are reflected in their formal and informal interactions with the law.
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