Vulnerability as Pedagogy: Norwegian Dialogue Facilitators Navigate Discomfort in Peace Education

• In Event: Responses to Pedagogical Impediments in Unforgetting History

Abstract

This study explores how educational practices rooted in Norwegian democratic traditions can inform future-oriented approaches to peace education. Educational systems increasingly emphasize psychological safety, yet transformative democratic learning may require productive discomfort and emotional risk-taking. This qualitative study investigates how four experienced Norwegian public dialogue facilitators strategically employ vulnerability as pedagogy when addressing racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia in community settings. Using Boler and Zembylas’ (2003) Pedagogy of Discomfort framework, semi-structured interviews reveal how facilitators model authentic disclosure, reframe discomfort as a necessity, and navigate varying expressions of vulnerability among dialogue participants. Findings challenge notions of emotional safety in education, showing how calculated emotional risk-taking enables marginalized voices to emerge, fostering the transformative dialogue needed for more equitable educational futures.

Author

• Cindy Yovanov, Drexel University