Drawing Bodies and Mapping Pedagogical Spaces: Multimodal Counternarratives of Elementary Teacher Candidates of Color in Urban Field Sites

• In Event: It's a Marathon, Not a Race: Teacher Development and Their Student Perceptions of Them

Abstract

Informed by the embodied perspective on humanizing pedagogy, this study examines how one Afro-Puerto Rican and one African American teacher candidate explored humanizing pedagogical possibilities during their urban fieldwork through multimodal counternarratives. Participants used their embodied knowledge and experience as reference points to identify, question, and resist the inscription of body discourses— steeped in hegemonic power, structural racism, and educational inequities— onto their bodies. In particular, multimodal counter-storytelling opened up a visceral yet empowering space for participants to consider the challenges and possibilities of embodying humanizing pedagogies in the classroom. This study calls for programmatic attention to providing opportunities for teacher candidates of Color to rehearse and embody humanizing pedagogical possibilities to resist oppressive body discourses surrounding urban schooling communities.

Author

• Jihea Maddamsetti, Old Dominion University