"It feels like time is stopping" – Students' embodied experiences

The concept of embodiment emerged from the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education, which was implemented in the autumn of 2016; however, it has thus far received very little attention in the Physical Education... [ view full abstract ]

The concept of embodiment emerged from the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education, which was implemented in the autumn of 2016; however, it has thus far received very little attention in the Physical Education (PE) literature. In this presentation, we use contributions from phenomenology to clarify the concept of embodiment. Here, the body is understood as a subject, carrying and producing meanings and playing a role in learning. The purpose of our presentation is to focus on the students’ embodied experiences and the ways in which they verbalize them. The data consists of vocational college students’ interviews and university class-teacher students´ summaries of their diaries. It is worth noting the exceptional versatility of the informants and the data. The study utilized phenomenological analysis, which was conducted as a dialogue between two researchers. The main result is that students verbalize their embodiment experiences not only as sensations of their own bodies, but also as social, cultural, historical, and material aspects. Although verbalizing embodied experiences is by no means easy, it is highly relevant. Verbalizing enables the broadening of PE discourses and brings meaningful experiences into view, not only in terms of binding people into physical activity, but also opening doors to other areas of life.