Imagination - Discourses on Learning in Education

Imagination – derived from the Late Latin imaginare “to form an image of, represent,” the human capacity to form, explore, and work with possibilities beyond immediate perception, drawing on experience, culture, and relation to make meaning. The following are among the many active interpretations of Imagination:

… as Mental Simulation – the capacity to mentally rehearse possibilities, scenarios, or outcomes beyond immediate perception (See Visualization.)
… as Creative Production – the ability to generate novel ideas, representations, or artifacts through recombination of experience (See Creativity Discourses.)
… as Sensemaking – the process of forming coherent meaning when information is incomplete, ambiguous, or evolving (See Sensemaking Metaphor.)
… as Projection – the capacity to envision futures, alternatives, or states not yet realized
… as Empathic Perspective-Taking – the ability to inhabit viewpoints, experiences, or positions other than one’s own (See Well-Being Discourses.)
… as Play – the exploratory engagement with ideas through experimentation, fiction, and symbolic activity (See Play-Based Learning.)
… as Cultural Practice – the socially shaped ways of envisioning grounded in language, history, and shared norms (See Embeddedness Discourses.)
… as Embodied Activity – thinking enacted through gesture, movement, sensory engagement, and material interaction (See Embodiment Discourses.)
… as Ethical Orientation – capacity to envision just relations, responsibilities, and possible ways of living together (See Activist Discourses.)

Please cite this article as:
Davis, B., & Francis, K. (2026). “Imagination” in Discourses on Learning in Education. https://learningdiscourses.com.

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