“Unforgetting” the Calling: Reclaiming Memory and Reimagining Futures in Education for Educational Research

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Memory, History, and Reclaiming Narratives in Education

Abstract

Memory, whether painful or beautiful, belongs solely to the individual and should not be held hostage. In this autoethnography, I reclaim critical memories that were pivotal to my educational leadership and research journey. Through this autoethnography, I explore my lived experience as a Black woman educator called to leadership, framed within the historical legacies of Black women’s “othermothering” and Black Feminist Caring. Through reflective storytelling, I draw upon personal and professional moments, beginning with the rediscovery of my initial calling to educational leadership and concluding with an understanding of purpose, healing, and legacy. In this case, autoethnography serves as a method of resistance, self-reflection, and offers space to speak in ways traditional research often restricts.

Author

• Gia Roberts, Broward County Public Schools