In order to change and to think in new ways boundaries of thought and action must be dislodged or crossed. To do this, something needs to disrupt the conceptual world. Counter-language is therefore a recurring concept in this dissertation. Art can be seen as counter-language, but also pedagogical processes can have this characteristic. Counter-language is that which provokes, that which calls into question the language people use to interpret their life experiences.

In this dissertation I examine two pedagogical chains of events that challenge the participants' "world view", and in which the participants meet a counter-language aimed at the type of learning that involves the confirmation of knowledge. How do the participants in these two arenas describe these events, and how do they approach the pedagogical "game”? The goal is to organize in theoretical themes and to put into words the concrete images of the pedagogical context where individuals' world view and self-image are confronted, and to interpret and analyze them.

The empirical part of this study involves two arenas. The first arena is an encounter between the school and the theatre. An analysis of group interviews shows how teachers talk about theatre and its potential in educational contexts. The second arena is a university course in cultural pedagogy in which the participants' written assignments comprise the empirical material. What happens when the participants experience counter-language? When conceptual worlds are confronted or challenged, we can react in different ways. We are faced with the choice to choose, to either look at or to look away. In encounters with counter-language, teachers and course participants are confronted with these choices. Should they engage in the pedagogical "game"? The results show what happens when the participants are confronted with counter-language. Three different action strategies are formulated: "to go into," "to stay put," and "to flee from."

People strive to create order, to create meaning, in everything that happens. This involves both cognitive and existential meaning-making. In this perspective learning involves meaning-making processes in which pupils' understandings of themselves and the world are provoked and challenged. A frequently occurring notion about learning is that it is a linear process in which new knowledge is added to previously learned knowledge in a summative process. However, learning is more complex than this. Less frequently do people speak of challenging and provoking existing knowledge. It is my intention to problematize this.

By way of conclusion, didactic issues concerning the school, and the teacher education are discussed in light of this study’s findings.