Body, narrative and play: an embodied intervention for inclusion and participation in lower secondary schools
Parole chiave:
Educazione incarnata; inclusione; gamification; digital storytelling; scuola secondariaAbstract
This paper presents a quasi-experimental study conducted in a lower secondary school in Naples, aimed at analysing the effectiveness of an integrated educational intervention based on embodied education, gamification and digital storytelling. The intervention, carried out within the Italian language curriculum and centred on narrative text construction, involved 110 students from four Year 7 classes, divided into an experimental group and a control group. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, integrating standardised tools for measuring engagement, motivation and sense of belonging to the school with semi-structured interviews with students and teachers. The quantitative results highlight a significant improvement in the experimental group compared to the control group, particularly in terms of participation, motivation and perceived inclusion. The qualitative analysis confirms these findings, showing how physical, narrative and digital activities have fostered student engagement and the accessibility of content, particularly for pupils with SEN attributable to linguistic disadvantage. The study suggests that the integration of body, play, storytelling and technology can represent an effective educational resource for promoting inclusive and multimodal learning environments.
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