Trust the process, surrender the outcome. Diversity in education. One teacher’s journey through an action research project about diversity, the role of arts and facilitation

Abstract

This article explores how diverse groups in education can be beneficial for learning, and how it can inform the development of pedagogical methods for citizens today. It looks into how arts can contribute to creating teaching methods that can accommodate general differences in communication and learning styles, and neurodiverse groups. The lack of education for citizens with development disabilities is in breach with the CRPD. The practice of placing pupils that do not comply with the standards of today’s schooling system is in breach with The Education Act (Opplæringsloven). By virtue of action research, methods and teaching styles have been researched in a diverse group. The article aims to shed light on how perspectives from arts and a concept of diversity and facilitation can re-negotiate the epistemological premises of modern education, in order to engage a paradigm shift that facilitates the development of an educational system that can comply with visions about a non-discriminating society, based on an expanded and deepened understanding of fundamental principles in Waldorf education. The research explorers teaching methods and approaches that can be relevant both in higher education and in Waldorf schools.