TY - JOUR

T1 - What Is the Role of the Body in Science Education?

T2 - A Conversation Between Traditions

AU - Kersting, Magdalena

AU - Amin, Tamer G.

AU - Euler, Elias

AU - Gregorcic, Bor

AU - Haglund, Jesper

AU - Hardahl, Liv Kondrup

AU - Steier, Rolf

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Bodily engagement with the material and sociocultural world is ubiquitous in doing and learning science. However, science education researchers have often tended to emphasize the disembodied and nonmaterial aspects of science learning, thereby overlooking the cru- cial role of the body in meaning-making processes. While in recent years we have seen a turn towards embracing embodied perspectives, there persist considerable theoretical and methodological differences within research on embodiment in science education that ham- per productive discourse. What is needed is a careful examination of how different traditions and disciplines, among them philosophy, social semiotics, and cognitive science, bear on embodiment in science education research. This paper aims to explore and articulate the differences and convergences of embodied perspectives in science education research in the form of a dialogue between three fictitious personas that stand for the cognitive, social- interactionist, and phenomenological research traditions. By bringing these traditions into dialogue, we aim to better position the role of the body in the science education research landscape. In doing so, we take essential steps towards unifying terminology across differ- ent research traditions and further exploring the implications of embodiment for science education research.

AB - Bodily engagement with the material and sociocultural world is ubiquitous in doing and learning science. However, science education researchers have often tended to emphasize the disembodied and nonmaterial aspects of science learning, thereby overlooking the cru- cial role of the body in meaning-making processes. While in recent years we have seen a turn towards embracing embodied perspectives, there persist considerable theoretical and methodological differences within research on embodiment in science education that ham- per productive discourse. What is needed is a careful examination of how different traditions and disciplines, among them philosophy, social semiotics, and cognitive science, bear on embodiment in science education research. This paper aims to explore and articulate the differences and convergences of embodied perspectives in science education research in the form of a dialogue between three fictitious personas that stand for the cognitive, social- interactionist, and phenomenological research traditions. By bringing these traditions into dialogue, we aim to better position the role of the body in the science education research landscape. In doing so, we take essential steps towards unifying terminology across differ- ent research traditions and further exploring the implications of embodiment for science education research.

U2 - 10.1007/s11191-023-00434-7

DO - 10.1007/s11191-023-00434-7

M3 - Journal article

JO - Science & Education

JF - Science & Education

SN - 0926-7220

ER -