Social Innovation in Education

Abstract

This article presents different perspectives of innovation in education and problematizes the lack of concepts, integration and measurement of social innovation in education. A definition of social innovation in education introduces three different dimensions of social innovation in education: level of innovation, type of education where innovation emerges and types of social innovation in education. However, an open question in social innovation in education that remains open is how to analyse educational innovation with a systemic approach. Further empirical research on social innovation in education is crucial to better understand how innovation in education takes place, how actors co-create for new models of education, how innovation networks in education are built and what new forms of governance in education are being implemented in different countries.

Grassroots innovation and social innovation in perspective

“…Social innovations can be understood as new forms of organisation or new social institutions ( Zapf, 1989 ), new social practices ( Howaldt and Schwarz, 2010 ), new social relations, or the combination of different factors, processes or institutions to obtain better solutions ( Maldonado-Mariscal, 2017 ). However, a narrower definition is needed to distinguish what is not a social innovation from what is.…”

“…This paper also addresses the boundaries of grassroots innovation and social innovation as a major focus of research. The rationale for this review on social innovation and grassroots innovation comes from the review of different dimensions and concepts of social innovation ( Maldonado-Mariscal, 2017 : 39), including the role of organised civil society, collective power to innovate and promote social change at the local level. All these dimensions were contrasted with the idea and concept of grassroots innovation, where a gap in the literature was identified.…”