Aesthetic Rhythms of Belonging

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 1:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Explorations of identity and belonging in/through arts based educational research

Abstract

This study explores how an embodied, arts-based activity within a social and emotional learning (SEL) program surfaces participants’ understanding of belonging. Conducted with 67 participants from five K–8 schools, the research focuses on the use of wooden manikins to express belonging through posture and gesture. Using frameworks of aesthetic rhythm and embodied pedagogy, 35 manikin scenes were analyzed using a layered approach of visual and sonic coding, poetic interpretation, and thematic analysis. Through “listening to images,” the study examines how participants engage the body as a site of meaning-making. Rather than claiming belonging is achieved, findings show how embodied expression helps clarify abstract concepts—inviting deeper reflection and strengthening alignment with the program’s goal to cultivate belonging from the inside out.

Author

• Jeneca Parker-Tongue, Hunter College - CUNY