Black othermothering, the arts, education, and a study designed by them for them

• In Event: Composing otherwise: Black Studies and the future of arts-based education research

Abstract

Research problem or objectives
Children are learning constantly, with much of their education occurring beyond school walls. Bringing these experiences into formal educational design introduces new opportunities for growth. Black women’s sociocultural experiences, deeply rooted in othermothering, position them as both nurturers and advocates (Collins, 2000; McCray et al., 2002). Their pedagogies often center the emotional and intellectual needs of Black children, fostering affirming spaces outside of dominant norms (Edwards, 2002). Yet this labor is often invisible, leaving Black women educators isolated and overburdened (Acosta, 2018). Meanwhile, new scholarship critiques narratives that blame Black mothers for systemic failures (Demps, 2021), instead highlighting their foundational role in communal educational work (Wilson, 1993).

Research questions include:
1. How do Black women caregivers and teachers collaboratively define and enact their roles in cultivating Black learners' educational success?
2. How does the collaborative, arts-based curriculum development process affect participants' feelings of educator efficacy?
3. How do participants perceive arts-based, community-driven approaches in fostering shared responsibility?
Theoretical or conceptual framework
This presentation shares a study using Participatory Action Research Counterspace (PARC), framed by Fugitive Pedagogy and Funds of Knowledge, to explore how Black othermothering, the arts, and community teaching practices build a “village” of educational support. The study redefines “educator” to include caregivers and offers findings from arts-based workshops designed to unlearn individualism and nurture shared responsibility. The village approach insists on collective responsibility and spatial justice, connecting diasporic traditions with contemporary resistance.

Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
The study uses a qualitative Participatory Action Research Counterspace (PARC)(West, 2023) approach grounded in Community-Based Art Education (Lawton et al., 2019). Through four workshops, participants co-develop arts-integrated curriculum while engaging in reflection and narrative-building. Pre/post surveys and semi-structured interviews track shifts in efficacy and village-building perceptions. Analysis is informed by the capability approach (Robeyns, 2005, 2017), with attention to what participants are enabled to do and become.

Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
Data includes focus group and workshop observations, participant-generated art and curriculum, surveys, and interviews. Analysis emphasizes narrative, affective, and artistic expression to uncover layered themes of capability, care, and resistance.

Preliminary or anticipated findings
Anticipated outcomes include:
1. Emergent indicators of “village learning” in school and community contexts
2. Affirmation of educator capability through co-creation
3. Reframing of caregiver involvement as pedagogical labor
4. Strengthening of cross-role relationships in support of Black learners
Scholarly significance or anticipated contribution to the field
This study reclaims arts-based education as a historically Black fugitive practice (Kraehe et al., 2016), countering structural isolation with collective care. What is most exciting about this study is its ability to transcend disciplinary boundaries by working through theories and a methodology currently underexplored in art education but helpful to art educators working with Black students and their caregivers. Participatory Action Research Counterspace, and othermothering go hand-in-hand as we imagine the impact of mothering, informal learning spaces, and community involvement in education, and the value of art as a mediator for these relationships.

Author

• K. Lynn Robinson, The Ohio State University