Spatial Justice and Educational Geographies of (In)Opportunity

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Research has long made clear that place determines who has access to educational opportunity and who does not. Making real the promise of racial justice in our schools requires taking seriously questions of place, spatial justice, and geographies of opportunity for children and families. The purpose of this session is to further knowledge about the relationship between social, cultural, and political geographies, racial equity, and educational thriving. The papers intentionally tackle the experiences of different stakeholders, including leaders of arts organizations, siblings, community advocates, first-generation, low-income college students, and immigrant parents. By bringing together these diverse perspectives, our session argues for place-based lenses to address educational injustice and offers important implications for creating more just geographies of educational opportunity.

Sub Unit

• Division G - Social Context of Education / Division G - Section 1: Education and Place, Space, Time

Chairs

• Sarah Bruhn, University of Pennsylvania

• Raquel Jimenez, Harvard University

Papers

• A Tale of Two Cities: The Discursive Construction of Space and Education in Lynn, Massachusetts - Raquel Jimenez, Harvard University

• Latinx Siblings Reconfiguring Raciolinguicized and Spatialized Family-School Relations - Jasmine Alvarado, Brandeis University

• “Show Everyone That the House is on Fire”: Organizing for Educational Justice in Washington, DC - Alisha Butler, Wesleyan University; Kristin Sinclair, Georgetown University

• Where There Is No Equity Engine: Low-Income Students and the Unequal Geography of College Success - Becca Spindel Bassett, University of Arkansas

• Forced Out: How Immigrant Mothers Navigate Displacement From a Sanctuary City and Its Schools - Sarah Bruhn, University of Pennsylvania