Introduksjon: Menneskeverd – mangfoldige forståelser for en mangfoldig skole

This chapter is called “Human dignity – diverse approaches for diversity in school”. Human dignity is one of the most important value concepts, as it appears as a common, global value that “everyone” owns – and is yet the source of the most merciless ongoing debates in society. In school, these debates are less in focus. In the formal curriculum and in the educational laws, dignity appears as a repeated basis. Yet, in educational discourse and teaching practices the definitions are vague and seldom concretized. In this chapter, we ask the following: 1) What characterizes different approaches to dignity as a concept? 2) What challenges and possibilities do the different approaches to dignity entail in school? In this chapter we will therefore aim at presenting different approaches to dignity. We do so by presenting a broad spectrum of approaches to dignity. We argue that dignity might be a diverse concept, and it can be explored as approaches promoting the “dignity of the strong” versus the “dignity of the weak”. The different approaches are exemplified with key issues of diversity and inclusion in school. The aim of the chapter is to give an introduction and an overview of diverse approaches to dignity – and thus, finding the beginnings of new debates about dignity for a diverse school.