Arts education and the potential of situation: Creativity, relationality and neurodiversity

This article develops a theoretical framework for arts education grounded in François Jullien’s concept of the ‘potential of situation,’ derived from classical Chinese thought. Challenging teleological and product-oriented models of pedagogy, it reconceptualizes artistic learning as the immanent unfolding of relational, affective and cognitive forces within educational situations. Through a critical dialogue with contemporary philosophy of education, artistic methodologies, neurodiversity studies, and thinkers such as Manning, Biesta, De Bono and Barad, the paper argues for a shift from efficacy-driven instruction to a pedagogy of strategic attunement. In this perspective, the teacher becomes a strategist of the possible, cultivating conditions for emergence rather than imposing predefined outcomes. Particular attention is given to neurodivergent learners, whose cognitive singularities are reframed as latent creative potentials. The article proposes evaluation as recognition of unfolding transformation rather than measurement of performance, contributing to debates on immanence, relationality, and non-teleological educational theory.