Ya-wen Cheng

8.6 From Screens to Streets: Integrating Real-World Aesthetics into Adolescent Education (Paper)

Ya-wen Cheng – Institute of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Abstract:

As screen time increasingly dominates adolescent life, their sensory experiences in physical environments are rapidly diminishing, even though adequate environmental exposure is essential for their kinesthetic development. Integrating community settings into educational curricula – particularly in aesthetic education – supports students in balancing sensory and cognitive engagement. Berleant’s (2007) “participatory aesthetics” suggests that aesthetic experience permeates daily life beyond just art or nature. Studies indicate that multi-sensory engagement in walking-based curricula can enhance students’ bodily and emotional memory (Ingold, 2004; Somerville & Green, 2015). However, as aesthetic courses tied to community settings grow, classroom-based instructional and assessment frameworks struggle to accommodate the variability of real-world environments, with individual differences among students becoming prominent.

This study surveyed 81 eighth-grade students, collecting 76 valid responses via semi-open questionnaires covering demographic data and observations of both transit spaces and school surroundings. Results show students mostly described urban structures (27.92%), human behaviours (22.43%), shops (20.53%), animals (15.27%), and natural landscapes (6.68%). Despite showing interest in animals during field observations, students’ questionnaire responses reflected limited multi-sensory descriptions, with few critical or historical insights. Findings suggest a need to reinforce students’ visual literacy of their environments and enhance multi-sensory and critical thinking skills in future curricula to improve comprehensive perception and critical awareness in community settings.