Methodological Possibilities of Photovoice and Mapping Grounded in an Intersectional Sociospatial Disability Studies Trialectic

• In Event: Exploring Spatiotemporal Dimensions of Education and Inequity: Expanding Our Capacity to Build Equitable Educational Opportunity

Abstract

Purpose
This project examines the methodological merits of photovoice and mapping to (a) disrupt white supremacist ideologies and praxis in educational landscapes and (b) transform and reconstruct educational systems and processes led by multiply marginalized disabled students in PreK-12 and postsecondary education.

Theoretical Framework
We ground this project in a trialectic of (a) critical spatial studies, (b) disability studies, and (c) intersectionality. First, critical spatial studies scholars consider how power and oppression operate across built, symbolic, and social spaces (Du Bois, 1989; Gilmore, 2007). Next, disability studies researchers examine how ableism manifests in schools, wherein nondisabled values and abilities are upheld and seen as normal (Erevelles & Minear, 2010). Finally, intersectional methodologists and theorists (Collins & Bilge, 2016) consider the matrix of saliency within the dynamic of oppression and privilege across social identities and structural factors, at macrosociopolitical (e.g., racism, trans/homophobia; Collins, 1998) and microinteractional (e.g., access to learning tools; Dávila, 2015) levels. Interweaving and engaging with these frameworks support scholars seeking sociospatial justice (Soja, 2010) within and across educational landscapes.

Method
This methodological project is situated within critical and participatory paradigms. We assume knowledge is mediated by power relations and control (Tuck & McKenzie, 2015). Moreover, we position multiply marginalized disabled students in PreK-12 and postsecondary education as primary research partners (Paris & Winn, 2014) and knowledge generators (Delgado Bernal, 2002). To this end, we focus on photovoice and mapping and their potential to reimagine education grounded in students’ lived experiences.

Data Sources
We focus on photovoice (Latz, 2017; Wang & Burris, 1997) and mapping (Futch & Fine, 2014), including drawing and iterations of Education Journey Mapping (Annamma, 2018), to achieve a more interdisciplinary geographical reimagining of education. Specifically, we discuss three projects: photovoice and mapping with postsecondary students (Author, 2017), photovoice and mapping with disabled girls of color in middle and high school (Author, 2020), and asset mapping and Education Journey Mapping with Black girls in middle and high school in a youth-led participatory action research project (Author et al., in progress). 

Results
When grounded in and led by multiply marginalized disabled students and their communities, photovoice and mapping have the power to advance scholarship, influence policy, and transform pedagogy. For example, disabled girls of color advocated for policy and practice changes at their high school through a photovoice exhibit. Black girls as youth researchers created two high school community resources based on data they gathered and analyzed. That said, visual and arts-based methodologies have the potential to facilitate inclusive, equitable, and accessible knowledge productions across educational landscapes. We use our scholarship to discuss these affordances, constraints, and expansive possibilities.

Scholarly Significance
We discuss the methodological implications of photovoice and mapping to “dismantle, redesign, and reconstruct [educational] systems” (Nasir et al., 2021, p. 1). As such, we lean on a trialectic to examine the spatiotemporal matrix of oppression, power, and privilege that multiply marginalized disabled students and their communities navigate and resist daily. It is here, within their perspectives, experiences, and solutions where true educational transformation and liberation are possible.

Authors

• Amanda L. Miller, Wayne State University

• Holly Pearson, Framingham State University