Stories of the Borderland: A Critical Narrative and Arts-Based Study with Heritage Spanish-Speaking Educators

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Arts based educational research and critical narrative(s)

Abstract

This conceptual paper presents a dissertation-in-progress titled Stories of the Borderland: A Critical Narrative and Arts-Based Study with Heritage Spanish-Speaking Educators. Grounded in Anzaldúa’s Borderlands Theory and Sealey-Ruiz’s Archeology of the Self, the study explores how heritage Spanish-speaking educators navigate the linguistic dissonance shaped by monolingual ideologies and racialized educational systems. Using pláticas, and arts-based methods such as zine-making and collage, the research design invites participants to excavate their linguistic identities while reflecting on their pedagogical practices. By centering art and story as decolonial methods of knowledge production, this work highlights the potential for creative, relational methodologies to expand understandings of teacher identity, resistance, and culturally sustaining pedagogies.

Author

• Adriana V Cardenas, New Mexico State University