Embodied dispositions towards learning: reading students’ embodied practice

This paper presents a cross-cultural discussion of three episodes where students’ embodied dispositions serve as indicators of, and barriers to, learning. These episodes are drawn from a longitudinal study into school reform in Asia. Framed around a shared understanding of embodiment within practice approaches, and employing a unique method of translation, each author shares their understandings of embodied practices. In the broader field of practice, where practice is always embodied, the authors draw attention to what students do, and how they employ learned capacities and competences. Each author highlights the importance of observing students’ embodied dispositions as complimentary to contemporary understandings of student learning as solely cognitive. The implication for teachers as keen observers of students’ embodied dispositions is discussed.