Designing With, Not For:A latin american reflection on co-creation in schools
By Monserrat Aranzazú Moreno García
Mexico · Service Designer, User Research & Educator
Monserrat Moreno García is a service designer and educator based in Mexico.
She works at the intersection of design, education, and collaborative practice, with a focus on participatory processes in schools and learning environments. Her background combines service design, user research, and instructional design. She has led co-creation initiatives in both public and private higher education institutions, including the Universidad de Guadalajara, one of the largest public universities in Mexico with over 310,000 students, and ITESO, the Jesuit University of Guadalajara, which serves a community of more than 10,000 people. Her work supports the development of inclusive, context-aware educational experiences that strengthen collaboration and shared decision-making.
The question beneath all questions
What would happen if schools stopped designing for students and families, and began designing with them?
That simple shift, from prescription to participation, lies at the heart of many educational reforms around the world. In Mexico, for example, the Nueva Escuela Mexicana (NEM) proposes a powerful idea: schools must become co-responsible spaces, where all actors, students, teachers, families, even neighbors, participate in the design of their shared learning environment (SEP, 2022).
When I heard a Mexican teacher describe this in a podcast, I immediately recognized the language of service design, though she never used those words. She spoke about shared decisions, real-world problem solving, community involvement, and the courage to sit down with parents and say, “What needs to change?” (Lázaro, 2024).
And yet, the reaction was telling. The video received over 200 comments, most of them critical, emotional, and resistant.
I analyzed more than 40 of them, randomly selected. And what I found wasn’t just disagreement, it was a mirror. It reflected fears, exhaustion, and long-standing tensions that any school, in any part of the world, might face when trying to co-create.
What resistance reveals
Here are five recurring narratives from the TikTok comments:
“It sounds nice, but reality is different.”
Many commenters said the idea was idealistic, designed from a desk, disconnected from classroom reality.“The school can’t solve everything.”
Others rejected the idea of teachers or principals taking on tasks that belong to other institutions (e.g., infrastructure, health, safety).“Parents don’t participate, or can’t be trusted.”
Some believed that parents lack interest or responsibility, making collaboration unrealistic.“This is just more work for us.”
Several teachers expressed feeling overwhelmed, underpaid, and emotionally drained. Co-creation sounded like extra pressure, not support.“Stop romanticizing reform.”
A deep skepticism emerged from those who had lived through many failed reforms. For them, this felt like another political experiment, not meaningful change.
What does this mean?
These aren’t just complaints. They’re emotional data. They show us that co-design isn’t just a method, it’s a cultural shift. It touches identity, trust, power, and expectations (Stickdorn et al., 2018). And that’s why it’s so hard. But it’s also why it matters so much.
Co-creation is global, but culture shapes how it lands
This reflection is part of a broader international conversation. Linda Paulauska, a graduate of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s in Service Design Strategies and Innovation (SDSI), invited me to contribute this piece for a magazine that will be distributed across schools in Latvia, Estonia, and Finland.
That matters.
Because it reminds us that while co-creation may look different in each context, some frictions are universal.
Whether in Mexico, Latvia, or Finland, we often face the same questions: Who gets to decide? What does “participation” really mean? Is there time for this? Will it actually change anything?
Understanding that co-creation is a shared human challenge, not just a local policy, helps us connect, reflect, and support each other better.
A real-life example: The mural and the sidewalk
In a public school in western Mexico, a co-creation initiative turned a deteriorated sidewalk into a safe and beautiful mural. The idea was born from a teacher’s concern: “What can we do to rescue this space and make it safe for our youth?”
The transformation became a participatory design experience involving not just students, but also parents, neighbors, and a local artist.
What happened? Children applied math to grid the space to scale. They used art, spelling, color theory, and handwriting. Teachers facilitated, but didn’t control. Parents brought food, helped paint, and stayed for conversation. A local artist volunteered time to guide the design. Everyone worked together, students, teachers, parents, neighbors.
The mural wasn’t just paint. It was a living classroom, where academic skills, emotional connection, and community building came together.
No special tools. No outside consultants. Just people, time, and trust (Ehn, 2008).
A Practical Starting Point: How Might We Begin?
If you’re reading this as a school leader, teacher, or parent wondering where to start, there’s already a simple and visual tool to guide you.
You can use the Figma Workshop Template: Co-Creation Conversation Activity, designed to help small groups co-create improvements to everyday school experiences in just 30–60 minutes.
No facilitation training needed. Just curiosity and care.
Why this activity works
It starts with something real (like lunch time or student pick-up), not abstract problems.
It invites everyone, students, teachers, families, to be part of the reflection.
It avoids blame and instead channels energy toward creativity and testing.
It’s light-touch but high-trust: the goal isn’t perfection, but participation.
Tips for implementation
Start small. Don’t try to fix a system—just one moment.
Make it visible. Use paper, markers, or the Figma template to map things out together.
Invite diversity. Mixing roles and perspectives often brings the richest insights.
Celebrate action. Even a tiny test can shift the culture toward collaboration.
Repeat. One cycle leads to the next.
That’s co-creation.
Not a big strategy. Not a budget line.
Just an honest, shared act of care.
What we learn from listening
I began this article with a simple observation: co-creation sounds good, but often meets resistance. And that resistance can be loud, emotional, even hostile.
But here’s what I’ve come to believe:
People don’t resist participation.
They resist performance.
They resist being asked to co-create without real influence.
They resist “fake listening.”
They resist being blamed when things don’t work.
So if we truly want to bring co-creation into schools, anywhere, we must do it honestly, slowly, and together.
We must accept discomfort.
We must celebrate tiny wins.
We must redefine what success looks like: not a perfect outcome, but a shared journey.
One Small Act Can Change Everything
If you’re still unsure, start here:
Ask one “How Might We” question.
Listen to one parent you’ve never invited before.
Let one student draw what their ideal school day feels like.
And from there, build forward.
You don’t have to fix the system.
You just have to open the door.
Because co-creation isn’t a buzzword, it’s a quiet, persistent act of hope.
And that’s how schools begin to heal.
References
Ehn, P. (2008). Participation in design things. Proceedings of the Tenth Anniversary Conference on Participatory Design, 92–101.
Fullan, M. (2007). The New Meaning of Educational Change (4th ed.). Teachers College Press.
Lázaro, A. (2024). [@alejandralazaro810]. Interview by Alejandro Anaya. La Balanza Podcast [TikTok videos].
Video 1: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMBGmkxsY/
Video 2: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMBGmVBV9/Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP). (2022). Plan de estudios 2022 para la educación preescolar, primaria y secundaria. Gobierno de México.
Available at: https://www.plandeeestudios.sep.gob.mx/Stickdorn, M., Hormess, M. E., Lawrence, A., & Schneider, J. (2018). This is Service Design Doing: Applying Service Design Thinking in the Real World. O’Reilly Media.
