Unlocking the Pedagogical Potential of Magic

Cameron Van der Does

doi:10.60867/00000143

This thesis explores the pedagogical potential of magic as an innovative and underutilised approach to education, with particular focus on its alignment with the Australian Curriculum’s General Capabilities. Drawing on a scoping review of 60 studies across education, psychology, therapy, and design, the research investigates how magic-based learning facilitates cognitive, social, and emotional development. Adopting a two-phase qualitative design, Phase 1 synthesises interdisciplinary literature to identify key pedagogical features through which magic supports learning. Seven core outcome domains emerged: Engagement and Curiosity, Social and Emotional Learning, Confidence and Self-Esteem, Creativity and Problem-Solving, Cognition and Insight, Wellbeing and Psychological Safety, and Motor Skills and Physical Development. Collectively, these domains demonstrate that magic operates as a structured experiential medium that activates curiosity, promotes reflection, and encourages active participation. Phase 2 systematically maps these themes against Version 9.0 of the Australian Curriculum’s General Capabilities framework. Findings indicate strong alignment with Personal and Social Capability and Critical and Creative Thinking, highlighting magic’s capacity to support collaboration, emotional regulation, resilience, and innovative problem-solving. In contrast, alignment with capabilities such as Literacy, Numeracy, and Intercultural Understanding was more limited and context dependent. The thesis advances a conceptual reframing of magic as “pedagogical architecture,” where structured surprise generates curiosity, curiosity sustains engagement, performance builds confidence, and reflection deepens learning. Rather than serving as entertainment or content alone, magic is positioned as a complementary pedagogy that shapes the conditions under which meaningful learning occurs. This research contributes a novel interdisciplinary synthesis and a curriculum-aligned framework for integrating creative pedagogies into formal education. It offers practical implications for educators and curriculum designers, while also identifying limitations and directions for future research. Overall, the study establishes magic-based learning as a credible, flexible, and impactful approach to supporting holistic student development.

Unlocking the Pedagogical Potential of Magic

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