Motherhood as Pedagogical Praxis in Teacher Education: Teacher Educator Mothers Leveraging Motherhood in Their Teaching

• In Event: Academic Mothers

Abstract

This participatory qualitative study explores how academic motherhood informs the pedagogical practices of 13 teacher educators across diverse institutions and disciplines. Grounded in matricentric feminism, the study challenges deficit narratives that frame motherhood as a professional liability by highlighting how caregiving experiences serve as powerful sources of pedagogical insight. Through reflective circle interviews and collaborative analysis, participants described how motherhood shapes their approaches to empathy, flexibility, advocacy, and family engagement in teacher education. Themes include modeling relational pedagogy, redefining success, and using home as a clinical context. Findings position academic motherhood as a transformative force that humanizes teaching, disrupts neoliberal norms in higher education, and expands the possibilities for justice-oriented, relational teacher preparation.

Authors

• Eugenia Vomvoridi-Ivanovic, University of South Florida

• Sarah A. van Ingen Lauer, University of South Florida

• Jennifer Ward, Kennesaw State University

• Cheryl R. Ellerbrock, University of South Florida

• Sophia Han, University of South Florida

• Karina K. R. Hensberry, University of South Florida

• Jennifer Jacobs, University of South Florida

• Patriann Smith, University of South Florida