Abstract
This paper describes a master’s thesis process in which systemic design was used to explore how children with a different home language than the national language can be supported. Using a systemic approach, this research maps the complex network surrounding these families and identifies key leverage points: valuing the home language, reducing pressure on the child, and strengthening family integration. Through interviews, cultural probes, and co-creation with professionals, insights were translated into a low-threshold product-service system (PSS) embedded in the children’s living environment. The PSS encourages family interaction and neighbourhood engagement through playful exploration. The findings underscore the potential of systemic design in the public space, highlighting its capacity to generate holistic, interconnected, and context-sensitive interventions. The systemic analysis in this research uncovers contrasting perspectives between stakeholder needs and governmental policies. This leads to a discussion on how municipalities and social workers perceive systemic design.
Keywords
Systemic Design, Product-service system design, Complex social issues, Co-creation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2123
Citation
Van Boxem, M., and Gruyters, M. (2026) A systemic design approach to supporting children with different language parents, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2123
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
A systemic design approach to supporting children with different language parents
This paper describes a master’s thesis process in which systemic design was used to explore how children with a different home language than the national language can be supported. Using a systemic approach, this research maps the complex network surrounding these families and identifies key leverage points: valuing the home language, reducing pressure on the child, and strengthening family integration. Through interviews, cultural probes, and co-creation with professionals, insights were translated into a low-threshold product-service system (PSS) embedded in the children’s living environment. The PSS encourages family interaction and neighbourhood engagement through playful exploration. The findings underscore the potential of systemic design in the public space, highlighting its capacity to generate holistic, interconnected, and context-sensitive interventions. The systemic analysis in this research uncovers contrasting perspectives between stakeholder needs and governmental policies. This leads to a discussion on how municipalities and social workers perceive systemic design.