Care is a key concept in contemporary social discourse. In the face of social transformations and multiple crises, care practices and discourses are once again coming to the fore – particularly as a response to individual and societal dependence and vulnerability. Whilst ‘care’ has already been extensively discussed in philosophical, social pedagogical, nursing science and queer-feminist contexts, research in the fields of school pedagogy and educational science is still in its infancy.

The core idea of the research cluster ‘Futures of Care in Bildung’ at the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg is to develop perspectives grounded in cultural theory on care practices within school educational settings, as well as on the professionalisation of school practitioners. In this context, ‘care’ refers not only to the distribution of care work, but also to care as a fundamental structure of human coexistence. This brings care practices into focus as theoretical and empirical categories, particularly with regard to their material conditions, their discursive and practical manifestations, and their effects on subjectification.

Within the research cluster, we examine care as a format and medium for forward-looking pedagogical professionalism. From a perspective informed by cultural theory and genealogy, we examine care relationships within school educational settings. The concept of care is defined in praxeological terms and understood as a politically relevant form of pedagogical action within institutional contexts.

The cluster centres on three key areas:
(a) Relationality: care relationships are reciprocal but not symmetrical. Of central analytical importance is the ‘third element’ of the care relationship – learning cultures – guided by inclusive and anti-discriminatory perspectives on school educational spaces, as well as by a reflection on pedagogical practices.
(b) Historicity: Drawing on perspectives from Curriculum Studies, the discourse is examined to investigate how care relationships are generated and institutionalised through the curriculum.
(c) Materiality: Care materialises in artefacts, architecture, spaces and media cultures. Questions of selection, responsibility and the design of material environments are central here.

From a cultural-theoretical perspective, care is understood as a relational and socio-material fabric of discourses and practices that influences the internal logics of schools and teaching, as well as processes of subjectification and address within school learning cultures. Relevant lines of discourse include general educational, relational, difference-reflective and inclusive perspectives. A common thread linking the three key areas, as well as neo-institutional and future-oriented learning, is the focus on intersectional inequalities. Building on the analytical framework of Critical Diversity Literacy (CDL), the project highlights educational approaches that are critical of power and discrimination and are oriented towards a society of migration. The aim of the research cluster is to develop a more refined, care-based pedagogical perspective on knowledge structures within school educational settings, particularly with regard to their relational nature, curricular shaping and material characteristics.

contact

We would ask any other interested colleagues to contact the following people:

(Co-convenor)

(Co-Convenor)

(Coordinator)