Social representations on justice: A comparative study in Colombian schoolchildren

Abstract

Social representations of justice of Colombian students enrolled from second grade of primary school to the last year of secondary schooling were analyzed. the level of structuring of these representations was established and their similarities and differences were identified according to the school grade and socioeconomic level. From a structural perspective, a word association technique was administered to 950 participants (481 girls and 469 boys) with the term justice inducer. The results showed that there are differences in the structure of the representation of justice depending on the socioeconomic stratum. All students have an ideal of justice that is opposed by negative elements which, in the case of official schools, are linked to violence and revenge while in private schools they are related to corruption. The representation of justice of students from private schools is more complex since it includes a greater number of mechanisms to exercise it, than that of those belonging to official schools.