Denis Francesconi, MA PhD

Denis Francesconi, MA PhD

Porzellangasse 4
1090 Wien
Room: 322

T: +43-1-4277-60024
denis.francesconi@univie.ac.at

Consultation hour: by appointment via mail.

Current teaching activities


Research Areas

  • Educational theory
  • General Education
  • Educational research

 

Research Focus

  • Embodied education: embodied self; enactivism; extended mind.
  • Quality of life: Beyond GDP; Quality of Life movement; sustainable wellbeing; embodied wellbeing.
  • Systemic pedagogy: systems thinking; socio-ecological systems; collective identities and movements (e.g. FridaysForFuture); social learning; Anthropocene and planetary identity.
  • Pedagogy of information: infosphere; knowledge and learning society; knowledge distribution and democratization; knowledge and power; datafication of education; education big data; data literacy. 

 

Activities 

  • Co-PI of the FWF-project EQoL – Teaching the Good Life (12/2023–11/2026).
  • Partner in the project STePS-Sensitise perception, recognize multiplicity: Children’s path to sustainability through narrative and participatory research hosted at the University of Bolzano-Bozen (IT).
  • Teaching, research collaboration, and student supervision in the above mentioned areas.

 

Scientific profile

I received my Master’s degree in Educational Sciences from the University of Verona (IT) and my Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and Education from the University of Trento (IT) (supervisor: Prof. Massimiliano Tarozzi). During my doctoral studies, I spent six months as a visiting scholar at the University of Central Florida, Department of Philosophy, under the supervision of Prof. Shaun Gallagher, and one year and four months at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, under the supervision of Prof. Kurt Fischer.

I have worked as a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Verona, Humboldt University of Berlin, and Aarhus University, where I was a Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow (2018–2020). 

Since 2023, I have served as an Expert Evaluator for the EU Horizon Europe MSCA programme. 

 

Main research fundings

  • Austrian Science Fund (FWF): EQoL – Teaching the Good Life (12/2023–11/2026) – 397.920,35 €.
  • Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (IF), Horizon 2020, European Commission: School for Quality of Life. Policy, practice and theory for a quality of life approach in European school systems (SQoL) (07/2018-06/2020) – 200.012 €.
  • Caritro-Bank of Trento-Rovereto: Embodied Wellbeing in Teacher Education. A pedagogical model (10/2014-12/2015) – 54.500 €.
  • Mind & Life Institute, Amherst (MA), USA: Contemplative Practices in Teachers Education (2015) – 8.000 $. Principal investigator.

 

Functions 

Substitute member for the D-SPL 59 Education Directorate of Doctoral Studies (Studienkonferenz der D SPL 59 - Doktoratsstudium Bildungswissenschaft).

 

Activities in scientific advisory board

Publications

Baldini M, Ricciardi M, Francesconi D, Casasola G. Ripensare l’ambiente educativo come luogo di appartenenza e di costruzione di valori. Formazione & Insegnamento. 2022 May 30;20(1):976-984. doi: 10.7346/-fei-XX-01-22_87

Francesconi D. Reti enattive, sviluppo sostenibile e impegno civico. Il caso di FridaysForFuture. PEDAGOGIA OGGI. 2021 Dec 23;XIX(2):116-123. doi: 10.7346/PO-022021-15

Symeonidis V, Francesconi D, Agostini E. The EU's Education Policy Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Discourse and Content Analysis. A Discourse and Content Analysis. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal. 2021 Oct 15;11(Special Issue):89-115. doi: 10.26529/cepsj.1137

Agostini E, Francesconi D. Introduction to the special issue "embodied cognition and education". Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences. 2021 Jul;20(3):417-422. doi: 10.1007/s11097-020-09714-x

Presentations

Showing entries 1 - 5 out of 29

Fourth International Conference of Scuola Democratica

Sibilla Montanari , Nazime Öztürk , Denis Francesconi , Evi Agostini
Fourth International Conference of Scuola Democratica
Conference, Organisation of ...
2.9.2026 - 3.9.2026

Cities as Educational Ecosystems: Integrating Smart and Learning City Frameworks.

Sibilla Montanari , Nazime Öztürk , Denis Francesconi , Evi Agostini
European Conference on Educational Research 2026
Conference, Talk or oral contribution
21.8.2026 - 21.8.2026

Opportunities and challenges in local collaboration: Educational Neighbourhoods (ENs) in Vienna.

Nazime Öztürk , Sibilla Montanari , Denis Francesconi , Evi Agostini
European Conference on Educational Research 2026
Conference, Talk or oral contribution
20.8.2026 - 20.8.2026

Bildungsgrätzln e Patti Educativi di Comunità: esperienze a confronto per la costruzione di Learning Communities

Sibilla Montanari , Martina Bonci , Denis Francesconi , Evi Agostini
EDUCAZIONE TERRITORI NATURA
Conference, Talk or oral contribution
28.11.2025 - 28.11.2025

Bildungsgrätzl-Netzwerk-Tag 2025Teaching the good life?!

Nazime Öztürk , Laura Bergmoser , Sibilla Montanari , Denis Francesconi
Bildungsgrätzl-Netzwerk-Tag 2025<br/>Teaching the good life?!<br/>
Conference, Organisation of ...
11.11.2025 - 11.11.2025

Showing entries 1 - 5 out of 29