Enfoque basado en el diseño para construir inclusión social y pluralismo en la juventud / Design-led approach to build social inclusion and pluralism in youth

Abstract

This article explores the use of design process, methods and pedagogy to promote social inclusion and pluralism among theyouth. It makes the case that design’s opportunity-driven approach combined withabductive reasoning and thinking is bettersuited to tackle uncertain, ambiguous andever evolving wicked problems such as exclusion—bias, discrimination and hate. It further discusses the work of a design-led social impact initiative based in the United States that uses design and creative facilitation to develop programs intended to cultivate a culture of inclusion in schools and classrooms. This paper outlines the use of systemic and individual behavior change strategies predominantly by; 1) developing learning modules, 2) cultivating pluralist competencies in students, and 3) capacity building for educators—providing facilitation tools and training for implementationat scale. Tested with more than 100 students and six educational institutes, the paper talks about the measurement and impact of the learning modules. Experience that fuses contents of diverse subjects and contributes to the collaborative work of the project-based approach. Students ideate proposals to contribute to the betterment of their community, empathizing with the environment and its inhabitants. The results are based on perceptual assessments of the participants and show positive aspects derived from the project experience developed. The conclusions refer to the learning potential of the compass methodology in rural schools with multigrade classroom, valuing collaborative and transversal work, in accordance to the resources of the territory.