Post‐formal design conversation: designing just and caring educational systemsa

Abstract

AbstractIn the USA, efforts to improve education continue to be poorly designed and disregard the necessity of centering these efforts on paradigms of justice and caring. Change efforts, such as vouchers, standards, rebuilding educational infrastructure, funding and privatization, are systematic at best, and are promoted by ideological and economic special interests who have no concern for the establishment of egalitarian systems. Because of the lack of design and critical concern, the change efforts invariably fail in their attempt to improve the quality of education, and merely sustain existing inequitable situations. Currently, outside of the academic arena, design theory and critical theory have little impact on the contentious debates about the purpose, form, and function of education. Therefore, how can the process of design and the promotion of justice and caring be included in the actual planning and practice of educational change? The argument will be made that processes of design and criticality can become part of the practice of education, and that the quality of education can be equitably improved through the synthesis of idealized systems design and post‐formal thinking. This synthesis, post‐formal design conversation, will be explored by first identifying the aspects of systems design and post‐formal thinking that are related to this synthesis. A discussion of the similarities and differences of post‐formal design conversation and design conversation will further explicate the nature of post‐formal design conversation. Finally, the potential of Opportunity‐Initiated Systems design to become an interventionist strategy, which will promote the inclusion of post‐formal design conversation in educational change initiatives, will by explored. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.