Compassionate Systems Framework: Creating Generative Social Fields in Education

• In Event: Perspectives of International Citizen-Practitioners Respecting and Embracing Responsibility for Enhancing Holistic Well-Being

Abstract

Teaching students to apply social, emotional, behavioral, and character skills required to succeed in schooling, the workplace, relationships, and citizenship is called social and emotional learning (SEL) (Jones et al., 2012). Compassionate Systems Framework (CSF) promotes the use of the system’s tools with awareness of one's SEL. Compassion is considered a “profound agent of healing” (Gilbert, 2007) and is defined as a kindness, with a critical awareness of one's suffering and that of others and with the desire to relieve it (Gilbert, 2009). “Compassion goes beyond seeing a system from the outside – a kind of intellectual exercise - but actually feeling what it is like to be an actor within the system” (Boell & Senge, 2019, p. 5). “A fundamentally compassionate state of mind acknowledges the unintended consequences of human behavior without judgment but with real care for the system and those involved in it” (Center for Systems Awareness, 2018).

The premise of this paper is that, the almost singular focus on cognitive outcomes has caused a huge setback to the development and enrichment of non-cognitive learning, social and emotional understanding, and a lack of awareness of the holistic nature of all systems and beings. Researchers and practitioners from the Center for Systems Awareness claim that the CSF has the ability to address these issues. The questions I have tried to answer through this research are: What is CSF, and how does it facilitate an awareness and compassion for our complex interconnected world?

The paper looks at the components of the framework and its theoretical underpinnings in systems and developmental theories, and the experiences of participants from seven sites and generative social fields. It uses the qualitatively analysed data collected from interviews and surveys. The findings show an alignment in what the framework proposes and the perceptions and experiences of the participants. The experiences of new users of the framework vary from experienced users. The framework encompasses the school content and context. It therefore affects not only the curricula, artifacts and pedagogy (content), but also the relationships and culture (context). Together they shape students’ mental models of how they view the world.

There are some concerns of cultural compatibility of CSF and its diffusion in non-western cultures. The practitioners who had used the tools found that they met their expectations. The natural, social and common use of the tools by students, staff, parents and leadership in formal and informal settings were a sign that a school was immersed in the CSF. The participants also believed that they could create generative social fields using this framework.

The findings and analysis support the claims of researchers and practitioners from the Center for Systems Awareness. The findings also raise questions about the abstract nature of the framework, generative social fields and the need for measurement and data that could establish the reliability of the framework across cultures and contexts.

Author

• Suchitra Sarda, SEE Learning india