Author Information
Nuri Oh, Maebong Elementary School, South KoreaAbstract
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, elementary classrooms have increasingly revealed disruptions not only in academic learning but in the embodied conditions that make learning possible. Teachers frequently observe students colliding with walls, mishandling objects, or producing excessive noise, followed by genuine confusion about their own actions. These phenomena point to a weakening of embodied self-monitoring rather than intentional misconduct. This paper examines such classroom experiences through a pedagogical reinterpretation of Sasojeol (사소절), a Joseon-era educational text traditionally read as a moral or etiquette manual. Rather than treating Sasojeol as a prescriptive code of conduct, this study approaches it as a collection of micro-behavioral practices designed to cultivate embodied self-regulation through everyday actions such as walking, handling objects, speaking, and responding to others. Grounded in theories of embodied cognition and practitioner-based qualitative observation, the analysis maintains that learning depends on bodily habits that sustain attention, social responsibility, and coordination. The paper further suggests that many post-pandemic educational challenges reflect disruptions in these embodied routines, exacerbated by prolonged digital mediation and reduced physical engagement. By using Sasojeol as an analytical lens rather than a historical model to be replicated, this study invites a reconsideration of elementary education beyond curricular content and technological solutions. It highlights embodied self-regulation as a foundational pedagogical concern in post-pandemic and AI-mediated learning environments.
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress