Conditions and Potentials for Educational Commons to Promote More Equal and Inclusive Education : A Swedish case study

This paper presents results from a Swedish case study conducted as partof a HORIZON 2020 project (2021-2024), investigating the potential of ed-ucational commons to foster more equal and inclusive education. Thestudy identifies three key factors for achieving this potential: (1) the imageof children and teachers, (2) the educational task, and (3) the methodsand theories used in educational practice. Through a critical analysis ofpolicy documents and neoliberal governance in education, the paper ex-amines how these factors were activated within a Playworld/InteractivePerformance involving children, teachers, artists, and researchers explor-ing a shared question of human beings’ place in nature and culture. Theanalysis and performance are framed by the theories of Carol Bacchi,Michel Foucault, Henri Bergson, and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory(CHAT). This collaborative, socio-dramatic approach positions childrenand teachers as contributing commoners engaged in meaning-makingprocesses. The findings challenge current educational policies, whichemphasize a deficit-oriented, compensatory logic. In contrast, the Play-world approach demonstrated that the potential for educational com-mons to promote inclusion lies in practices that foster imagination, play,and narrative co-construction, supported by aesthetic and sensory expe-riences. These methods allow both children and teachers to actively con-tribute to the creation of new commons.words.