Educational and legal implications for teaching social justice in Colombia

Abstract

This article analyzes the pedagogical implications for teaching social justice in Colombia based on two pillars: the theoretical-educational framework that understands social justice as critical, inclusive, and intersectional citizenship training, and the constitutional precedent of Ruling SU-360 of 2024, which reinforces the material control of criminal prosecution and the centrality of reasonableness, sufficient evidence, and the protection of fundamental rights in judicial proceedings. A systematic literature review (PRISMA 2020) was applied to indexed databases (2020-2025) and institutional repositories, complemented by a legal document analysis of SU-360/2024. The results show three converging findings: legally, SU-360/2024 provides a didactic standard for training skills in argumentation, hypothesis testing, and evidentiary assessment, which are useful for transferring constitutional reasoning to the classroom; in terms of pedagogy, the literature supports classroom strategies based on case studies, guided debates, critical literacy, and an intersectional approach, linking norms, context, and human dignity; and in terms of curriculum and institutions, there is a need to mainstream social justice in curricula by strengthening teacher training and articulating authentic assessment with equity criteria. Overall, a model of legal education with a social justice approach is proposed, in which the analysis of precedents such as SU-360/2024 is integrated into active methodologies to develop deliberative and ethical skills. These findings guide the conclusions toward two fronts: the consolidation of a situated legal pedagogy capable of converting precedent into meaningful learning, and the institutionalization of training practices that guarantee access, inclusion, and the real exercise of rights in the Colombian higher education system.