Integrating Contemporary Art in the PYP IB Curriculum to Open Dialogues About Cultural Diversity in Norway

Abstract

What does it mean to open dialogues about cultural diversity using art in an international school in Norway? In the context of a changing Europe, cultural prejudices, sense of otherness as well as cultural and language barriers represent a challenge for educators. That is why, placing a special focus on progressive education, literacy and the humanities are key to designing a student-centered International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum which is also inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Goals. What makes Norway’s private schools unique in comparison to other private schools that implement the IB curriculum is that a state-approved private school is 85% publicly financed. Within this context, Fagerhaug International School (in the region of Trondelag), has welcomed students coming from a wide variety of cultural and social backgrounds worldwide, and used art as a subject to integrate dissimilar cultures by opening dialogues about global issues, such as immigration. This means that many students in Norway can have access to quality public education within a multicultural environment whereby the community is enriched. The school can act as a cultural and political institution open to addressing local and global challenges to help shape a comprehensive model of the society. In this paper, three case studies are analyzed by using the theoretical approach of Diversity Pedagogy (Hernández Sheet, 2005) along with themes from theories related to democratic education (Freire, 2005). The article discusses the role of contemporary art in the teaching-learning process of art as a subject within Scandinavian socialism in the context of evolving Europe.