Fostering Environments to Strengthen School Experiences for All (Healthy and Thriving Environments for Strong Connections and Strong Schools, Part 6)

Liberatory Design is an approach to changing what is and creating a whole ecosystem that best supports all students. It is a process and practice to create designs that help interrupt inequity and increase opportunity for those most impacted by oppression.

In this episode, host Juliana Urtubey, NBCT, talks with Kathleen Osta from National Equity Project about Liberatory Design. Kathleen and Juliana explore the 12 mindsets of Liberatory Design and how they support collaborative work. These mindsets must be applied with intentionality and can support healing, being seen, and humanizing our spaces. The Liberatory Design Mindsets support us in reconnecting with one another as full human beings, which allows us to then bring our best thinking forward and design systems in innovative ways. Kathleen calls on us to think about how we create and tend to the conditions where together we are not only taking actions to learn but to also transform power. She reflects on how we talk about complex issues without blame or shame, come together to define the problem, and create new ways of doing things. Including those closest to a problem to generate a solution helps interest holders to feel seen and understood. This can shift the culture of a space and deepen relationships.    

Continue your learning

After listening to this episode, use the reflection guide to explore what new strategies you might want to try and how you will intentionally create an environment that explores curiosities you might have about fostering deep relationships with families/caregivers and the community. Find the reflection guide at this link.

Here are other related resources to today’s episode:

• Learn more about Liberatory Design at liberatorydesign.com

• Learn more about National Equity Project

• More about the Stanford D School and Liberatory Design

Learn more about the Arizona K12 Center at azk12.org.