Explaining Educational Justice in medical sciences universities: A Grounded Theory Study

In the beginning of this century, the provision of education based on talents was the attention of experts, and from the second half of this century, the slogan of educational justice was raised. In recent years, educational justice has been the focus of education experts (Sango et al. 2011). Universities are among the organizations where the issue of justice has always been a challenge. Focusing on the issue of justice throughout history shows that humans have an innate desire for justice, and for this reason, there has always been an effort to implement it. This issue has been at the forefront of many government policies. Justice in all fields, especially in the field of education, can be planned and investigated as one of the important indicators of comprehensive development and survival of natural and social systems. Establishing educational justice is one of the most important and key goals in educational systems around the world. Because education is the most important capital that is available to the public and is the basis of all developments in society. Educational justice is one of the most fundamental dimensions of justice and the progress of society depends on its realization. Educational justice can transform education in all areas and provide the basis for the emergence of talents and abilities at the macro level. This study was conducted with the aim of explaining the model of educational justice in universities of medical sciences using grounded theory study.

The current research is a grounded theory study that was conducted in 2014-2016. The participants were 17 faculty members and postgraduate students of medical sciences universities, and sampling was done based on the goal and until data saturation was reached. Data collection was by interview method. All interviews were recorded, handwritten and then analyzed line by line. Extracted codes and data analysis were done with the method of Strauss and Corbin 1998. The research participants included 8 men and 9 women.In this study, after explaining the objectives of the research, the researcher took informed consent from each participant to participate in the study and record the interview and explained that the participants have the right to withdraw from the interview at any stage.

The participants in this study included 17 people, including 8 men and 9 women. The average age of the participants was 48 years. Some participants considered educational justice to be equal to the equality of educational opportunities in universities and believed that there should be equality between all students in various matters in the university. Educational justice among students in universities of medical sciences included 4 main categories of justice in creating educational opportunities, standard and correct evaluation, responsive education and discrimination. In total, 11 sub-classes were extracted from the above 4 classes. Justice was identified as a central concept in creating educational opportunities. Identifying how medical sciences university’s deal with the category of educational justice can be effective in distributing educational justice among students in different universities, and as a result, it provides the basis for the emergence of talents and abilities. Provide students at the macro level.

The purpose of this study was to explain educational justice among students of medical sciences universities. The results of data analysis showed that educational justice in universities of medical sciences includes justice in creating educational opportunities, correct and standard evaluation, responsive education and discrimination. In educational environments, especially universities, the existence of fair conditions and the observance of educational justice can be effective in the morale and academic performance of students (Yemeni et al. 2016). The results of studies have shown that there is a negative and significant relationship between educational justice and different dimensions of students' academic burnout, emotional exhaustion, academic apathy and academic inefficiency (Marzooghi et al. 2012). Improving the state of educational justice can be associated with reducing the academic burnout of students. In educational environments, especially universities, the existence of fair conditions and compliance with the principles and rules of justice lead to the transfer of a sense of value to students. In addition to this, the perception of the existence of justice removes the doubts and concerns of people regarding the violation of their rights and freedom (Berkovic 2014). Also, considering the relationship between justice and commitment, it can be stated that if there is a low perception of justice among students, they will lose their commitment as a student in acquiring knowledge and becoming a professional. The perception of injustice in the educational environment leads to the tendency to misbehavior, aggression and also reduce the motivation to study in students (Ferlin et al. 2015).The results of data analysis showed that educational justice in universities of medical sciences includes justice in creating educational opportunities, correct and standard evaluation, responsive education and discrimination.