“Becoming‐With the World”: Embodied Perspective‐Shifting Practices and the Development of Educators' Transformative Agency
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Offering educational settings of “becoming” entails confrontation with diversity. Considering the case study of the “Cultivating knowledge and care” course, this paper aims at understanding how the educational experiences of future educators are shaped by a semester‐long course consisting of care and knowledge practices involving embodied perspective shifting activities (e.g., artefacts creation). The course was attended by first year students in Educational Sciences and deaf and neurodivergent young adults. A convergent mixed methods design is implemented: the quantitative component is constituted by the Soft Skills self‐evaluation questionnaire (3SQ), the Connectedness to nature one (CNS), and the multidimensional self‐esteem one (TMA). Subsequently, two focus‐group discussions were conducted in connection with creative tasks: the first was linked to a photo‐elicitation activity, and the second to a symbolic artefact task (paper folding). Integrated findings indicate that the laboratory was associated with stronger gains in self‐perceived curiosity, trust, resilience, and emotional regulation, alongside qualitative narratives of perspective‐shifting, relational attunement, and agency‐as‐achievement, thus supporting an integrative interpretation of transformative agency and diversity awareness.
Source: European Journal of Education
DOI: 10.1111/ejed.70518
Authors: Emiliane Rubat du Mérac, Astrid Favella
Institution: Sapienza University of Rome
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,350
OpenAlex ID: W7130319749