ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ECOLOGICAL PEDAGOGY: A THEORETICAL FRAME FOR DESIGNING INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Francesco Vincenzo Ferraro

Abstract


This article explores how AI can support inclusive and sustainable outdoor education through an ecological pedagogy lens. Drawing on the Ecological Pedagogy Framework, it positions AI as a relational tool that complements embodied learning. Case studies on wearables, environmental monitoring and adaptive platforms illustrate opportunities and risks, stressing inclusivity, sustainability and teacher mediation.


Keywords


Artificial Intelligence in Education; Synecological Pedagogy; Outdoor Learning; Inclusive Education; Sustainability

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aggarwal, D. (2023). Integration of innovative technological developments and AI with education for an adaptive learning pedagogy. China Petroleum Processing and Petrochemical Technology, 23(2), 709-714.

Akgun, S., & Greenhow, C. (2022). Artificial intelligence in education: Addressing ethical challenges in K-12 settings. AI and Ethics, 2(3), 431-440.

Allen, K.-A., Vella-Brodrick, D., & Waters, L. (2016). Fostering school belonging in secondary schools using a socio-ecological framework. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 33(1), 97-121.

Anderson, J. G., & Moore, S. (2021). Education in the Circumpolar North: Mapping the landscape. The Morning Watch: Educational and Social Analysis, 47(1-Spring).

Barrette, M. Y., Naylor, P.-J., Grouzet, F. M., & Harper, N. J. (2025). Fostering early adolescent health and planetary well-being through nature: a Delphi study on nature-based literacy. Health Promotion International, 40(1), daaf010.

Beames, S., Higgins, P., & Nicol, R. (2012). Learning outside the classroom: Theory and guidelines for practice. Routledge.

Bearman, M., & Ajjawi, R. (2023). Learning to work with the black box: Pedagogy for a world with artificial intelligence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 54(5), 1160-1173.

Capodanno, F., Gentile, C., & Aiello, P. (2025). L’educazione alla corporeità nei servizi educativi per l’infanzia: un’indagine qualitativa delle pratiche inclusive. Journal of Inclusive Methodology and Technology in Learning and Teaching, 5(2).

Chiu, T. K. (2021). A holistic approach to the design of artificial intelligence (AI) education for K-12 schools. TechTrends, 65(5), 796-807.

Ciccarelli, S., Ferraro, F. V., Ferraro, F. V., & Ferraro, F. V. (2024). The teaching body: a new experimental method of immersive teaching between technologies and corporeity. Mizar. Costellazione di pensieri(20), 17-24.

Ciccarelli, S., & Tafuri, M. G. (2024). Embodied digital learning: New educational scenarios between artificial intelligence and the rediscovery of corporeality. Journal of Inclusive Methodology and Technology in Learning and Teaching, 4(1).

Eames, C., & Aguayo, C. (2019). Designing mobile learning with education outside the classroom to enhance marine ecological literacy. Teaching and Learning Research Initiative, Wellington, 1-20.

Fägerstam, E., & Blom, J. (2013). Learning biology and mathematics outdoors: effects and attitudes in a Swedish high school context. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 13(1), 56-75.

Ferraro, F. V. (2023). Teaching Sports and Exercises Science: experiences and life skills of a lecturer. Form@ re-Open Journal per la formazione in rete, 23(1), 132-140.

Gadotti, M. (2010). Reorienting education practices towards sustainability. Journal of education for sustainable development, 4(2), 203-211.

Ghosh, S. S. (2025). Building bridges to sustainable education: Integrating AI and infrastructural capacities for eco-centric pedagogy. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 8(Sp. Iss. 1), 101-111.

Holstein, K., McLaren, B. M., & Aleven, V. (2019). Co-designing a real-time classroom orchestration tool to support teacher-AI complementarity. Grantee Submission.

Iavarone, M. (2025). Il corpo dell'educazione nell’Era Digitale: riflessioni, sfide e prospettive. Journal of Inclusive Methodology and Technology in Learning and Teaching, 5(2).

Iavarone, M. L., & Aruta, L. (2023). Nella “rete del rischio”. Il ruolo dell’Educatore Mediale per il Benessere Digitale. In Strategie per lo sviluppo della qualità nella didattica universitaria (pp. 750-753). PensaMultimedia.

Knox, J., Wang, Y., & Gallagher, M. (2019). Introduction: AI, inclusion, and ‘everyone learning everything’. In Artificial intelligence and inclusive education: Speculative futures and emerging practices (pp. 1-13). Springer.

Lee, C. D. (2017). An ecological framework for enacting culturally sustaining pedagogy. Culturally sustaining pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world, 261, 273.

Lindberg, R., Seo, J., & Laine, T. H. (2016). Enhancing physical education with exergames and wearable technology. IEEE transactions on learning technologies, 9(4), 328-341.

Long, N., Lei, Y., Peng, L., Xu, P., & Mao, P. (2022). A scoping review on monitoring mental health using smart wearable devices. Math. Biosci. Eng, 19(8), 7899-7919.

Lugg, A. (2007). Developing sustainability-literate citizens through outdoor learning: Possibilities for outdoor education in higher education. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 7(2), 97-112.

Marzullo, N. (2024). Semiotics of the Body and Inclusive Education through a Scoping Review of Pedagogical Practices Inspired by Umberto Eco_. Journal of Inclusive Methodology and Technology in Learning and Teaching, 4(4).

Mohd Ali Khan, N. S., Karpudewan, M., & Mohamad Yusoff, I. (2025). Harnessing Augmented Reality in climate change education to correct climate misconceptions among secondary school students. Environmental Education Research, 1-20.

Molavian, R., Fatahi, A., Abbasi, H., & Khezri, D. (2023). Artificial intelligence approach in biomechanics of gait and sport: a systematic literature review. Journal of Biomedical Physics & Engineering, 13(5), 383.

Mueller, M. P. (2009). Educational reflections on the “ecological crisis”: Ecojustice, environmentalism, and sustainability. Science & education, 18(8), 1031-1056.

Palma, F., & Amatori, G. (2025). TECHNOLOGIES FOR LEARNING IN HOSPITAL SCHOOLS: THE ROLE OF AI AND GAMIFICATION IN EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH EDUCATION, SPORT AND INCLUSIVE DIDACTICS, 9(2_Sup).

Patera, S., & Del Gottardo, E. (2022). Educazione alla sostenibilità come educazione armoniosa. Le rappresentazioni di un campione di famiglie. SIRD, 1, 784-796.

Qureshi, R., Shaughnessy, D., Gill, K. A., Robinson, K. A., Li, T., & Agai, E. (2023). Are ChatGPT and large language models “the answer” to bringing us closer to systematic review automation? Systematic Reviews, 12(1), 72.

Roll, I., & Wylie, R. (2016). Evolution and revolution in artificial intelligence in education. International journal of artificial intelligence in education, 26(2), 582-599.

Rundel, P. W., Graham, E. A., Allen, M. F., Fisher, J. C., & Harmon, T. C. (2009). Environmental sensor networks in ecological research. New Phytologist, 182(3), 589-607.

Scuotto, C., Triberti, S., & Iavarone, M. L. (2023). Using digital games to promote transformative emotions and support moral development. In Innovating Teaching & Learning. Inclusion and Wellbeing for the Data Society (pp. 104-106).

Selwyn, N. (2019). Should robots replace teachers?: AI and the future of education. John Wiley & Sons.

Selwyn, N. (2021). Education and technology: Key issues and debates. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Sofo, A., & Maragno, R. (2015). Percorso di educazione ambientale nel mondo vegetale. Lulu. com.

Stanger, N. R. (2011). Moving" eco" back into socio-ecological models: A proposal to reorient ecological literacy into human developmental models and school systems. Human Ecology Review, 167-173.

Suryanarayana, K., Kandi, V. P., Pavani, G., Rao, A. S., Rout, S., & Krishna, T. S. R. (2024). Artificial intelligence enhanced digital learning for the sustainability of education management system. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 35(2), 100495.

Tarantino, A., Patera, S., & Del Gottardo, E. (2023). Valutare la formazione esperienziale: il caso" Sentirsi in alto mare". Education Sciences & Society: 1, 2023, 118-134.

Tarsi, P. P., Tarantino, A., & Del Gottardo, E. (2024). Metaphorical emotional experential learning (meel): navigating relational dynamic and transforming learning environments. Giornale Italiano di Educazione alla Salute, Sport e Didattica Inclusiva, 2.

Viola, I., Campitiello, L., Capodanno, F., Di Tore, S., & Aiello, P. (2024). EXPLORING ONE’S EMOTIONS: THE POTENTIAL OF CHATBOTS FOR TEACHER EMOTIONAL EDUCATION. Giornale Italiano di Educazione alla Salute, Sport e Didattica Inclusiva, 8(2), 1-16.

Williamson, B., & Eynon, R. (2020). Historical threads, missing links, and future directions in AI in education. In (Vol. 45, pp. 223-235): Taylor & Francis.

Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education–where are the educators? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1), 1-27.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.32043/gsd.v9i3.1584

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 ITALIAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH EDUCATION, SPORT AND INCLUSIVE DIDACTICS

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Italian Journal of Health Education, Sports and Inclusive Didactics 

ISSN printed: 2532-3296

E- ISSN: 3103-5744