Using data from a case-study school as a springboard, this article explores how enactments of democratic education might both problematise and illuminate new possibilities for the way we conceptualise social justice in education. Nancy Fraser’s tripartite framework of social justice is used to analyse in-depth interviews with students aged 14–16 from a democratic school in the United Kingdom. The article makes two key arguments: first, it highlights the interdependence of ‘recognition’ and ‘representation’ and, consequently, calls on mainstream policy and practice to make a substantive commitment to participatory democracy as part of the ‘inclusive education’ agenda. Second, it points to the tensions between ‘redistributive’ justice and other social justice aims which may be particularly stark in democratic education (and other progressive education) spaces. The article suggests that a strengthened relationship between democratic schools and research communities would offer a crucial contribution to collective critical reflection on social justice in education.

本文以案例研究学校的数据为跳板，探讨了民主教育的制定如何既可以质疑也可以阐明我们将教育中的社会正义概念化的新可能性。南希·弗雷泽（Nancy Fraser）的社会正义三方框架用于分析对来自英国一所民主学校的14至16岁学生的深度访谈。这篇文章提出了两个关键论点：首先，它强调了“承认”和“代表”的相互依存，因此呼吁主流政策和实践对参与式民主做出实质性承诺，作为“全纳教育”议程的一部分。第二，它指出了“再分配”正义与其他社会正义目标之间的紧张关系，这在民主教育（和其他进步教育）领域尤为明显。该文章认为，加强民主学校与研究社区之间的关系将为对教育中的社会正义的集体批判性思考做出重要贡献。