Embodied Education for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Lower-Secondary Students: A Collaborative Approach
Antonio Ascione, Federica Badii Esposito, Giovanna Scala
Abstract
This investigation examines the impact of an innovative educational programme carried out in a lower?secondary school, centred on Embodied Education, sustainability, and inclusion. The initiative brought together a physical-education teacher and an external specialist, both of whom implemented cooperative learning strategies to stimulate active, collaborative engagement. A comparison group—selected with identical criteria but not exposed to the programme—served as a control. Using a mixed-methods design, the study drew on three
Keywords
Inclusion; Sustainability
Body
Education
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of the new ecological paradigm: A revised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3),
425–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00176
Evans, N., Tomas, L., & Woods, C. (2022). Impact of climate change education on students’
knowledge, attitudes, and behavior: A systematic review. Environmental Education
Research, 28(2), 283–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1990495
Forlin, C., & Sharma, U. (2017). Teacher preparation for inclusive education: Costs and
benefits in the Asia-Pacific region. European Journal of Special Needs Education,
32(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2016.1254964
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Cognitive
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197–203.
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learning.
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Learning
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Higher
Education,
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17–29.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787418799172
Mehling, W. E., Acree, M., Stewart, A., Silas, J., & Jones, A. (2018). The Multidimensional
Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, Version 2 (MAIA-2). PLOS ONE, 13(12),
e0208034. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208034
Paloma, F. G. (Ed.). (2020). Embodiment & school. Pensa Multimedia.
Roth, W.-M., & Jornet, A. (2019). Toward a theory of experience. Science Education, 103(4),
1056–1077. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21515
Sailors, J., & Nichols, C. M. (2021). Exploring the impact of embodied learning strategies on
student engagement in middle school science classes. Journal of Educational Research,
114(6), 543–556. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2021.1978673
Sclater, M. (2019). Engaging creative practice and multimodality in arts education: Rethinking
embodiment, pedagogy and social justice. International Journal of Education & the
Arts, 20(16), 1–23. http://www.ijea.org/v20n16/
Shapiro,
L.
(2019).
Embodied
Cognition
(2nd
ed.).
Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315126343
Sharma, U., Forlin, C., & Loreman, T. (2017). Impact of a teacher education course on pre-
service teachers’ beliefs about inclusion. Journal of Research in Special Educational
Needs, 17(2), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12026
Zhang, X., Geng, L., & Tam, K. P. (2021). The influence of perceived material risk on
environmental engagement: The role of NEP. Journal of Environmental Psychology,
79, 101711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101711
