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National Embodied Education NetworkResearch · Relationships · Professional development

Call for Papers: Schools and Local Communities

Call for Proposal

First National Conference

Embodiment and the Educating Community: Literature, Developments and Perspectives

Angevin Castle, Gaeta (LT) – 20 and 21 June 2025

Following the seminars held, or scheduled to take place by May 2025, across Italy in collaboration with UNIPA, UNIBA, UNIPEGASO, UNIKORE, UNIMOL, UNIMC, UNIMORE, IUSVE and UNIBG, the series concludes with the First National Conference on Embodied Education (Schools and Local Communities), organised and promoted by the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio.

The conference will feature two internationally renowned scientists: Professor Giacomo Rizzolatti (Emeritus Professor of Physiology, University of Parma– Mirror Neurons and Embodied Education), delivering his keynote on the afternoon of Friday 20 June, and Professor Joseph LeDoux (Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, New York University, USA), delivering his keynote remotely on the afternoon of Saturday 21 June.

Who can submit

Participants working in education, professional development, pedagogy, teaching, psychology and related educational professions may present ideas, effective practices, experiences, research findings and proposals for research and collaboration in Embodied Education.

Conceptual framework

In a constantly changing society, where the pace of life is increasingly shaped by algorithmic procedures and the perceived need to use time productively, the concepts of education, teaching and school are becoming progressively more fluid. Educational institutions are increasingly called upon to focus less on transmitting content and knowledge and more on ways of being and becoming: being citizens of a world of endless possibilities, without being overwhelmed or constrained by assumptions suited less to a culturally globalised world than to an economically globalised market, where every component is necessary but not indispensable, useful yet replaceable. In this phase of the Anthropocene, marked by the growing presence of artificially intelligent machines, research and scholarly debate need new contributions that can clarify the place of humanity and the human, particularly as beings situated in and shaped by time. We can no longer confine ourselves to the online world:onlife is already here (Floridi, 2016). From this perspective, research should focus less on the relationship technologies may establish with humans than on the relationship humans establish with technologies. The body acquires renewed centrality through neuroscience and the need for a new principle of ethics and responsibility (Jonas, 2014). We adopt Embodied Education (EE), particularly the Embodied Cognition paradigm, as a scientific lens for understanding embodiment as central to human cognition. Recognising the unique individuality of everyone involved, intentional teaching, research design and educational activities should be structured around inclusive thinking that embraces the full range of human conditions. An approach concerned with more than assistance: an existentialand substantive approach, attentive to each person’s particular characteristics and explicitly open to everyone according to their possibilities. An educational design that is potentially enabling, rather than rehabilitative or enabling in a narrow sense. We must avoid a Malthusian proliferation of teaching methods, whether or not they are based on AI, and instead promote situated, concrete, productive and open learning in any context, informed by a deep understanding of the connection between the body–brain system and our cognitive and social abilities. Those working in education must support learning while respecting each person’s pace and characteristics, recognising learners as complex systems of meanings that acquire new meanings while continually producing others. Ultimately, EE can situate learning within subjectivity, taking account of the spaces, times and relationships of educational settings in the light of the scientific, epistemological, social and anthropological changes we are experiencing.

Conference venue, dates and fees

Venue: Angevin Castle, Gaeta (LT)

Date: 20 and 21 June 2025

Fees: Conference registration costs EUR 100 per person, including attendance, two coffee breaks, one lunch and the conference dinner. Registration may be paid for using the Italian teacher training voucher (Carta del Docente).

Number of participants: Registration will be processed through this LINK available until 10 April. Given the venue’s capacity, registration will close after 100 participants. Early registration is advised. Participants will receive a certificate of attendance.

Call for proposals

Authors may propose workshops lasting no more than 30 minutes, including questions and answers. Each contribution may be presented at the conference by one to three authors.

Workshops will take place on 21 June 2025.

Authors are invited to submit workshop abstracts of 250–300 words, excluding references. These sessions should involve the audience in experiential and interactive activities.

All abstracts will undergo peer review. Accepted abstracts may be developed into full papers for a special issue of “Corpo, Società, Educazione”, published by Centro Studi Erickson and edited by Filippo Gomez Paloma. https://rivistedigitali.erickson.it/corpo-societa-educazione/la-rivista/.

Deadline abstract: 10 April 2025

Notification of acceptance: 20 April 2025

Deadline full paper: 30 May 2025

Expected publication: July 2025.

Topics

AREA 1: Embodied Education and Subject Teaching

AREA 2: Embodied Education, Sustainability and Inclusion

AREA 3: Embodied Education and Technologies

AREA 4: Embodied Education and Professional Development

AREA 5: Embodied Education and Bodily Awareness

AREA 6: Embodied Education and Integrated Early Childhood Education (0–6)

Programme structure

FRIDAY 20 JUNE 2025
14.00 - Welcome and registration
15.00 - Institutional welcome
15.45 - Introduction
16.00 – Keynote Speaker – Prof. Giacomo Rizzolatti
17.00 - Coffee break
17.30 - Round Table – Embodied Education in Italy
19.30 – Performance
20.15 - Conference dinner

SATURDAY 21 JUNE 2025
08.30 - Visit to Gaeta’s Angevin Castle (first group)
09.15 – Workshops – Best Practices in Embodied Education
W1 – Embodied Education and Subject Teaching
W2 – Embodied Education, Sustainability and Inclusion
W3 – Embodied Education and Technologies
W4 – Embodied Education and Professional Development
W5 – Embodied Education and Bodily Awareness
W6 – Embodied Education and Early Childhood Education (0–6)
11.15 - Coffee break
11.45 - Plenary feedback session
13.00 - Visit to Gaeta’s Angevin Castle (second group)
13.45 – Lunch
15.00 - Keynote Speaker - Joseph Le Doux (remote)
16.00 - Round Table - Epistemic Pluralism in Embodied Education
18.00 - Closing remarks

Scientific Committee

Scientific Coordinator – Filippo Gomez Paloma (UNICAS)
Deputy Scientific Coordinator – Paola Damiani (UNIMORE)
Members – Antonio Borgogni (UNIBG), Michele Baldassarre (UNIBA), Giuseppa Compagno (UNIPA), Alfredo Di Tore (UNICAS), Enrico Miatto (IUSVE), Nicolina Pastena (UNIKORE), Francesco Peluso Cassese (UNIPEGASO), Stefano Polenta (UNIMC), Simone Digennaro (UNICAS).

Organising Secretariat

Antonio Cuccaro – antocuccaro@gmail.com
Chiara Gentilozzi – gentilozzichiara@gmail.com
Monica Di Domenico – didomenicomonica@gmail.com
Fabrizio Schiavo – fabrizioschiavo81@gmail.com