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

Showing entries 1 - 5 out of 39
Francesconi D. Anthropocene. In Essential Concepts for Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: An A-Z Guide. Routledge. 2025. p. 12-14 doi: 10.4324/9781003519560

Francesconi D. Embodied Education. Eine Einführung. Sonderpädagogische Förderung heute. 2025;1:9-24. doi: 10.3262/SZ2501009

Langer S, Agostini E, Francesconi D, Zambaldi N. Peace. PEA – Pedagogy, Ecology and the Arts. In PEA – Pedagogy, Ecology and the Arts conference: peace. Franco Angeli. 2025. p. 9-17. (Ecologie della formazione, Vol. 2). doi: 10.3280/oa-1427

Langer S, (ed.), Agostini E, (ed.), Francesconi D, (ed.), Zambaldi N, (ed.). PEA – Pedagogy, Ecology and the Arts conference: peace. Franco Angeli, 2025. (Ecologie della formazione).

Showing entries 1 - 5 out of 39

Presentations

Showing entries 1 - 5 out of 26

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

Extended Education in Urban Spaces. Exploring Collective and Individual Learning for Sustainable Communities

Sibilla Montanari , Nazime Öztürk , Denis Francesconi , Evi Agostini
WERA TASK FORCE Global Research in Extended Education Conference
Conference, Talk or oral contribution
26.9.2025 - 26.9.2025

Cities as Learning Ecosystems. A systematic review of pedagogical pathways to enhance Quality of Life and Integral Wellbeing

Nazime Öztürk , Sibilla Montanari , Denis Francesconi , Evi Agostini
ECER 2025, Belgrade: Charting the Way Forward: Education, Research, Potentials and Perspectives
Conference, Talk or oral contribution
10.9.2025 - 10.9.2025

Joint Activities between and beyond Educational Institutions as a means to Enhance Community Learning? Insights from the City of Vienna

Nazime Öztürk , Sibilla Montanari , Denis Francesconi , Evi Agostini
ECER 2025, Belgrade: Charting the Way Forward: Education, Research, Potentials and Perspectives
Conference, Talk or oral contribution
10.9.2025 - 10.9.2025

Showing entries 1 - 5 out of 26