Foundational Categories of the Pedagogy of Joy

Abstract

This article presents a new paradigm for the early stages of education, the Pedagogy of Joy. In addition to offering a variety of playful activities, this paradigm is proposed as an integrated theoretical–practical framework organized into four foundational categories that have not been previously identified: (1) Affective Curiosity Trigger (ACT), which positions emotion as an indispensable gateway to cognition; (2) Playful-Cognitive Flow (PCF), which integrates the state of “flow” with the Zone of Proximal Development; (3) Learner Self-Narrative (LSN), which focuses on building the student’s authorial identity; and (4) Embodied Resonance of Knowledge (ERK), which asserts learning as an embodied phenomenon. The article describes the theoretical foundations of each of these categories, their development based on dialogue with Affective Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, Psychomotricity, and Critical Pedagogy, and demonstrates their applications in the school environment. Finally, it argues that if these categories are systemically articulated, the Pedagogy of Joy will result in a powerful theoretical–practical framework capable of transforming pleasure from an occasional state into a central, structuring pedagogical principle that promotes deep, meaningful, and humanizing learning.