Critical and participatory design in-between the tensions of daily schooling: working towards sustainable and reflective digital school development

ABSTRACT

Using Critical Design (CD) and Participatory Design (PD) as analytical and normative vantage points, this contribution reflects on how characteristics of both approaches can be useful for a reflective and inclusive engagement with educational technology in school development processes. Illustrating initial empirical findings from the research project Smart Schools, we analyse how characteristics of CD and PD are challenged or affirmed when unfolding in school practice. Our data show how three key logics substantially challenge ideas of CD and PD in digital school development processes, namely: (1) the idea of digital school development as a set of sequential processes; (2) an understanding of digital and analogue as opposing conditions; and (3) the conceptualisation of knowledge hierarchies between students, teachers, and external stakeholders. Simultaneously, we observe perspectives that affirm both approaches. Consequently, we argue that the notions of critique and participation must be rethought to apply CD and PD in everyday school development processes.

KEYWORDS:

• critical design
• participatory design
• digital school development
• educational futures
• design ethnography

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 For reasons of clarity and consistency this contribution uses the term design-based research and its abbreviation DBR, remaining aware of the fact that there is a variety of terms referring to the concept of using design as a tool for inquiry in educational sciences.

2 https://www.smasch.eu/; The project aims to co-design pedagogically meaningful, context-related and sustainable digitisation strategies with schools in Hamburg and Belgium.

3 Ensuring ethical standards, the research was approved by the Institute for Education Monitoring and Quality Development (Institut für Bildungsmonitoring und Qualitätsentwicklung – IfBQ), which is part of the educational authority in Hamburg. Additionally, written consent was obtained from all school research participants.

4 The working groups at both schools consisted of leadership team members, ICT coordinators, teachers and child care workers.

Additional information

Funding

This research paper out of the project ‘Smart Schools’ (SMASCH) is funded by dtec.bw – Digitalization and Technology Research Center of the Bundeswehr.