Mapping Geographies of Belonging in the School Environment and the Body

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 2:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Engaging Visual Data, Inquiry, and Storytelling (Table 1)

Abstract

In this study, I explore belonging as a place-based construct with mappings of the physical environment and emotional landscape. The purpose of this autoethnographic study is to unearth my own stories of (un)belonging and the longings of safety, belonging, and dignity that impact my lens as a leader and researcher. It is in this excavation that I aim to stop the retraumatization of solutions born from trauma. This paper is guided by theoretical frameworks grounded in occupational studies and human geography which offer a comprehensive approach to examining awareness and belonging. Findings are art-based narratives using the Doing-Being-Becoming Framework as a structure to organize an emerging understanding of schools as sites of both inclusion and exclusion.

Author

• Jeneca Parker-Tongue, Hunter College - CUNY