Creating Room for Social Justice Pedagogy in Fashion Education

In this paper we encourage fashion educators to consider applying social justice pedagogy to fashion education. We begin by situating the current state of fashion education within the context of neoliberalism. Social justice pedagogy is defined and introduced as an alternative approach to fashion education. Participatory action research (PAR), which aims to address the needs of disadvantaged groups, is also provided as a solution to increase social justice awareness in students, departments, and institutions. Possible starting points are provided for instructors interested in integrating social justice into their courses. While social justice pedagogy and PAR are not foolproof methods for achieving equity-related goals in the classroom, they provide a starting point for instructors interested in promoting social change through their teaching.