Educating for the development of embodied awareness: a university-based experience
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v83.119650Keywords:
Autoethnography , contemplative pedagogy, mindfulness, physical education, transmaterialismAbstract
Introduction: This article presents an autoethnographic pedagogical experience in an undergraduate degree program in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, aimed at fostering embodied awareness. It clarifies the transmaterialist onto-epistemological perspective as an interpretive framework along with its principles of pedagogical action.
Objective: To analyse the educational approach as an empirically grounded, reflective experience, integrating its theoretical foundations with critical teacher self-reflection and qualitative evaluations from students.
Methodology: A qualitative autoethnographic research design was used. The narrative corpus included anonymous student evaluations, which were analyzed using categorical content analysis.
Results: A portion of the students progressed from an initial cultural shock, characterized by resistance to the practice and the dominance of the traditional view of the discipline, toward an experience marked by greater openness, personal growth, and group cohesion.
Discussion: Although some students remained skeptical, reaffirming the dominant technocratic view of the discipline, the findings generally showed that the learning experience was highly meaningful and transferable to everyday life.
Conclusions: The experience fostered a shift among students from a body-as-object conception toward embodied awareness, recognizing the ethical and political implications of embodiment. Furthermore, it showed the applicability of this proposal to other areas such as athletic training or sport, although in some cases a preference for a mechanistic view of the discipline persisted. Mindful teacher presence constitutes the decisive factor in the successful implementation of contemplative pedagogical approaches in physical education.
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