Connecting embodied learning to social and environmental responsibility for the realisation of Life Orientation outcomes

Abstract

There is a lack of knowledge about how embodied educational practices can be used to challenge and problematise traditional Life Orientation teaching approaches that normally result in a lack of learner engagement on socioenvironmental challenges. The objective of this small-scale exploratory qualitative study was therefore to establish whether Grade 10 Life Orientation teachers encouraged embodied learning experiences that are grounded in learners’ lived experiences, creativity, expressive potential and perspectives. Data were generated from lesson observations combined with semi-structured individual interviews that were analysed thematically. The findings revealed that the participating teachers struggled to transform complex social and environmental matters into concrete embodied educational experiences for their learners. An additional finding highlighted the importance of how the Life Orientation curricula can serve as a stimulus to aid an embodied teaching-learning approach towards social and environmental responsibility. These findings provide a starting point for the development of a framework to guide Life Orientation teachers to employ embodied learning practices and, thus, meet the outcomes of the subject as envisaged in policy statements.