Plural Social Justice in the Graduation Profiles of Social Work Programs at Chilean State Universities

Abstract

This article analyzes the explicit and implicit presence of social justice in the graduation profiles of Social Work programs at Chilean state universities, as well as the way in which its distributive, recognition, and participatory dimensions are articulated within the declarative curriculum. An exploratory qualitative design was developed based on a comparative documentary analysis of twelve official graduation profiles, retrieved from institutional sources and analyzed through a matrix grounded in a plural conception of social justice. The results show that explicit references to social justice are exceptional and that, more frequently, it is expressed indirectly through references to human rights, public policies, diversity, human development, citizenship, or territory. The distributive dimension shows the greatest operational development, especially through public policies, program management, state action, social equality, and intervention in vulnerable contexts. The recognition dimension appears mainly at a declarative level, linked to diversity, pluralism, interculturality, and gender. The participatory dimension is the least operationalized, with limited references to deliberation, democratic governance, or shared decision-making. The study identifies three profile typologies: distributive-institutional; rights-, diversity-, and recognition-oriented; and relatively integrated profiles of plural social justice. The findings suggest that strengthening curricular coherence may require moving from general normative statements toward competencies, learning outcomes, and assessment criteria capable of integrating redistribution, recognition, and participation in professional education.