Building Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for Early Childhood Preservice Teachers Through Community Mapping

• In Event: Exploring Culturally Relevant/Responsive Pedagogy as Praxis in Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper explores the process and outcomes of a class community mapping project as a pedagogical method for developing CRP with early childhood preservice teachers. Community mapping is a way of telling a neighborhood’s story. Mapping is a way to identify local assets, networks, and opportunities in a community. Our goal was to use the information gathered from research on an urban community in the Southeast to contribute to preservice teachers’ understandings of the social, economic, and educational conditions that affect students and families living in that community. Research and direct involvement in the community has the potential to enable future educators to deepen their understanding of issues of diversity, power, and opportunity. The major objective of this research was to explore the ways in which community mapping as a pedagogical tool for developing CRP with preservice teachers engaged these future educators in new sociocultural understandings and equity methodologies. Consequently, the guiding research question for this investigation was: In what ways, if any, does the community mapping project as an instructional strategy specifically aimed at developing culturally relevant pedagogy, influence preservice teacher learning? This project makes a case for building preservice teachers’ capacities to collectively engage in community research and advocacy. As we conceptualize future directions of multicultural teacher education, we should consider methods of engaging our students in community-based work that develops their ability to be advocates for students, their families, and communities. To be clear, we are not advancing notions of service learning, but rather intentional community research that informs and empowers both preservice and practicing teachers to in turn empower their students.

Authors

• Tambra O. Jackson, Indiana University - IUPUI

• Brandy S Bryson, Appalachian State University