Mapping Consequential Geographies Through Spatial and Temporal Methods in Bilingual Education (Poster 6)

• In Event: Mapping the Field: The Role of Space in Educational Equity

Abstract

Objectives
This paper presents findings on using Teacher Education Journey Mapping to center teachers' experiences and enhance relationship-building for educational and research co-design. The study findings shed light on the potential of collaborative mapping to gather local insights and foster relationship-building, leading to more comprehensive understandings of community needs to inform educational and research decision-making (Annamma, 2018).

Modes of Inquiry
This project utilizes participatory mapping as a co-design approach (Warren et al., 2018) with ten bilingual educators from a dual language elementary school in Texas. Unlike positivist methods of school change, this approach involves collaborative mapping with teachers, school leaders, and a multidisciplinary research team. We adapted Annamma’s (2018) Education Journey Mapping to develop a Teacher Education Journey Mapping (TEJM) protocol. This protocol aims to build collective awareness of how space affects educational (in)equities and to foster discussions on improving learning environments for both teachers and students. The guiding research question is: How can participatory mapping reveal the history and persistence of spatial inequalities and exclusion for emergent bilingual students, as well as highlight resistance and community-based advocacy for social and racial transformation?

Theoretical Framework
We draw on critical theory and critical geography (Lefebvre, 1991; Soja, 1996) in our theorization of space. Space is conceived as an assemblage of physical geography, human relations, images, discourse, and practices that make up the particular communities that constitute this study (Lefebvre, 1991).

Data and Insights
Primary data includes video recordings, transcriptions, and participants' drawn TEJMs. We analyzed the data using Agnew’s (1987) three aspects of space—location, locale, and sense of place—alongside Soja’s (2010) concept of spatial justice. We followed Knigge and Cope’s (2006) grounded visualization methods, applying their entry-level code categories—conditions, interactions, strategies and tactics, and consequences—to identify key patterns and connections within and between the maps.

Findings
Preliminary findings reveal three key themes: (1) systems of power in spaces, (2) spaces as sites of resistance, and (3) space as spatial, historical, and communal. Bilingual educators highlighted how dominant language constructs in education perpetuate oppression across classroom, school, and community scales. They critiqued the emphasis on English as a source of power and sought to challenge it in their teaching. Their maps illustrated how broader politics of transnationalism, immigration, and monoglossic language ideologies influence classroom dynamics. Educators described feelings of shame and othering and noted the significant power of school spaces in imposing deviant identities. Their MEJMs revealed cultural tools, such as standardized testing and remediation practices, as stigmatizing, while they actively resisted these identities through their maps and narratives.

Scholarly Significance
The project is based on the premise that education communities achieve better solutions to classroom and school-based inequities when those most affected can influence key decisions. By using the MEJM methodology, we examined individual and collective educational experiences to uncover the unique historical and contextual insights of our co-design team of teachers and researchers. During the poster session, we will briefly outline how these insights can inform the development of co-designed professional learning spaces.

Authors

• Cathery Yeh, University of Texas at Austin

• Lauren Rigby, University of Texas at Austin

• Frances Lopez, University of Texas at Austin

• Irán Tovar, University of Texas at Austin