Co-Creation for Childhood Education International
An equitable approach to collaboration that engages the assets, experiences, and knowledge of everyone involved.
As a learning organization in a learning field, Childhood Education International values and uses co-creation:
- As a method for teaching and learning – We contribute to improved learning and development outcomes for all by ensuring that children’s ideas, desires, and needs are respected and valued We know that the most effective teaching occurs when teachers listen to and learn from children. Teachers should ask themselves not only what ideas and knowledge they can share with children, but also what ideas and knowledge children can share with us.
- In working on projects with partners and clients – We foster the development of high-quality programming that is responsive to the evolving needs of children, educators, and communities. We accomplish this by listening to and learning from our partners and clients, engaging in dialogue to exchange knowledge and ideas with others. In this way, we build trust and understanding and ensure that the project design is contextually relevant.
Co-creation is a foundational aspect of the most effective way for learning and sharing knowledge. Whether this involves teachers working with their students or education professionals working with partners and clients, the process of co-creation can bring about bright futures for all — both adults and children, both learners and educators.
At Childhood Education International, through collaboration that engages the assets, experiences, and knowledge of everyone involved, we work toward our mission to develop innovative solutions to education challenges that affirm children’s learning and development as the pathway to sustainable futures for all.
For us, co-creation is grounded in and grows through the principles of collaborative engagement, active centering of participants, holistic decision-making, belonging and inclusion, and continuous learning.
Join us!
We adopt a learning approach to co-creation, and invite you to learn, reflect, consider, and understand the concept of co-creation with us.
Our understanding of co-creation is supported by:
What is co-creation?
Co-creation is a set of collaborative, iterative, evolving, and interactive processes that guide how people work together to develop methodologies, tools, and knowledge to achieve shared goals.
It builds upon the experiences, interests, hopes, and humanity of the people involved in these processes, acknowledging that the process of learning builds on collective knowledge and experience.
What are our principles of co-creation?
All co-creation, whether working with teachers and children to design an education experience or working with partners and clients to design a community approach to education, must include the following elements:
Why do we value co-creation?
Co-creation is an important way of working for Childhood Education International because it offers the potential to be more equitable, inclusive, and innovative. Bringing together diverse actors and multiple perspectives opens the possibility of solving complex problems in education that cannot be (and have not been) solved by approaches that are isolated and disconnected.
Co-creation is built on engagement and recognizes that shaping solutions together leads to greater sustainability. At its best, co-creation allows everyone to be a leader and contributor, which equalizes power relations. Where there is co-creation, everyone is mutually respected and has equal value.
What are the challenges of co-creation?
Co-creation can be joyful and meaningful, but it is not always clear-cut or simple. It is not a final point that an organization or community reaches. For Childhood Education International, it is both a guiding purpose (the “why”) and a fundamental purpose (the “how”) for the work we do.
Certain challenges, both at an organizational level and a systemic level, move us either closer to or further away from co-creation. We acknowledge that when making these decisions, we must consider:
What actions inform our co-creative process?
Here are some additional thoughts from Childhood Education International to consider as you move through your co-creation journey:
Join us in our co-creation journey!
We invite you to join us in efforts to more fully consider:
Co-creation at its best should be an accepted, instinctive, genuine process that helps us learn and grow together.
Join Us
Share your stories of co-creation to help inform our understanding and strategies. Join our online community, and contribute to the conversation. You can also contact us using our website form.