Movement-based performing arts as an approach to embodied learning in secondary teacher education

ENG- The general aim of this thesis is to analyze Movement based Performing Arts focusing on bodily imagination potential as an approach to Embodied Learning in Secondary Teacher Education. This aim has been inserted in a theoretical framework that combines key concepts coming from the field of Movement-based Performing Arts, and Embodied Education, as well as the idea of kinesthetic/bodily imagination. The thesis defines Movement-based Performing Arts focusing on kinesthetic/bodily imagination as a distinct artistic area, emphasizing its unique creation, performance, and pedagogical aspects. It traces the evolution of movement-focused practices in theatre, dance, and performance art, highlighting the central role of the body and physical movement in these disciplines. It discusses the value of Movement-based Performing Arts in bridging research and teaching, particularly within secondary education and teacher training contexts, as well as their legal regulation within Italian and Spanish contexts. Through insights from various disciplines and contexts, it proceeds by examining the ideas of kinaesthetic/bodily imagination and creative movement, as conceptual and practical bridges between Movement-based Performing Arts and Education. Finally, it frames Embodied Education as a relevant field for this research, building upon critical, transformative and socio-material perspectives. The aim of the thesis is pursued through embodied methods, by combining an artistic and a qualitative approach: including artistic-action research, phenomenology of performance, and theoretical analysis of art-educational practice. Analysis methods span from open and non-theory driven thematic analysis, theory driven thematic analysis, phenomenological analysis, interpretive analysis, as well as artistic creation. Embodied methods were used to generate both theory and art-educational tools, towards both understanding and advancing the practice of the Movement-based Performing Arts as an approach to embodied education. Research has involved three group of secondary school teachers and two groups of secondary school students, each of them in a different educational experience founded on Movement based Performing Arts Devising activities. The study has been developed in two contexts, Spain and Italy, drawing on existing professional networks, in order to widen the sample through the studies. This also to respond to the need of creating synergies in the study and advancement of the position of the Movement-based Performing Arts in Education. Results are presented as a compendium of seven articles, three of them have been published in indexed journals, two articles are currently being edited, and two more articles have entered the review phase. The results of the different studies that inform this thesis underline the transformative potential of MbPA focusing on bodily/kinesthetic imagination. They emphasize its role in fostering embodied learning that foregrounds sensory and bodily aspects of embodiment. Results show MbPA potential for developing teachers’ professional identity, supporting students’ emotional well-being, and both student’s and teachers’ diverse identity expression. Finally results highlight MbPA providing arts-based methods that bridge embodied research and classroom practice in creative ways. As demonstrated by this thesis, such arts-based embodied tools have the potential for creating school cultures that are more epistemically just, and promote the imagination more just futures. Ultimately, this research advocates for the inclusion of the Movement-based Performing Arts at the core of public education systems and teacher training as a means to cultivate embodied learning, imagination, and creativity, in radical ways within education