Abstract
Children in public schools challenge people’s conceptions of them by talking about their spiritualities and spiritual practices. Based on a one-year multicultural feminist critical narrative inquiry, this article examines how Black and Latina/o first grade children co-researchers interview family members to think about their beliefs, encourage others, and to acquire more spiritual knowledge. I provide three counterstories in which children choose a mother, an older sister, and a younger brother to interview. These counterstories demonstrate children’s diverse literacies and spiritual practices, and families’ involvement in children’s lives. I discuss implications for educational practices in support of Black and Latina/o children and their families. I highlight ways pedagogical practices can be critiqued and transformed in order to better support children.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adato A. (1998) Kids pictures to God. Life 21(3):68–80
Agbenyega S., Jiggetts J. (1999) Minority children and their over-representation in special education. Chula Vista 119(4):619–632
Anzaldua G. (1999) Borderlands, la frontera: The new mestiza. Aunt Lute Books, San Francisco, CA
Banks C. (1996) Intellectual leadership and African American challenges to meta-narratives. In J. A. Banks (eds.) Multicultural education, transformative knowledge, and action: Historical and contemporary perspectives. Teachers College Press, New York, pp. 46–63
Bogdan R. C., Biklen S. K. (1998) Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods, (3) Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA
Brant B. (1994) Writing as witness: Essay and talk. Women’s Press, Toronto, Ontario
Cannella G. (1998) Early childhood education: A call for the construction of revolutionary images. In W. Pinar (ed.) Curriculum: Toward new identities. Garland Publishing. New York, pp. 157–184
Cannon K. (1996). Katie's canon. Continuum, New York
Ceja, M. (2000, November). Making decisions about college: Understanding the information sources of Chicana Students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Sacramento, CA
Clark C. T., Moss P. A. (1996) Researching with: Ethical and epistemological implications of doing collaborative, change-oriented research with teachers and students. Teachers College Record 97:518–548
Coles R. (1990). The spiritual life of children. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA
Collins P. H. (2000) Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment, (2). Routledge Press, New York
Cook-Sather A. (2002) Authorizing students' perspectives: Toward trust, dialogue, and change in education. Educational Researcher 31(4):3–14
Curry, T., & Bloome, D. (1998). Students as ethnographers, thinking and doing ethnography: A bibliographic essay. In A. Egan-Robertson & D. Bloome (Eds.), Students as researchers of culture and language in their own communities (pp. 1–32). Hampton Press, Inc: Cresskill, NJ
Daniel J., Effinger M. J. (1996) Bosom biscuits: A study of African American intergenerational communication. Journal of Black Studies 27(2):183–200
De Gaetano Y., Williams L. R., Volk D. (1998) Kaleidoscope: A multicultural approach for the primary classroom. Merrill Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
Dresang E. (2003) Controversial books and contemporary children. Journal of Children's Literature 29(20):31–53
Egan-Robertson, A., & Bloome, D. (Eds.) (1998). Students as researchers of culture and language in their own communities. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, Inc
Elenes C. (2001) Transformando fronteras: Chicana feminist transformative pedagogies. Qualitative Studies in Education 14(5):689–702
Fernandez L. (2002) Telling stories about school: Using critical race and Latino critical race theories to document Latina/Latino education and resistance. Qualitative Inquiry 8(1):45–65
Foster M. (1997) Black teachers on teaching. The New Press, New York, NY
Halford J. (1998/9) Longing for the sacred in schools: A conversation with Nel Noddings. Educational Leadership 56(4):28–32
Hernandez H. (2001) Multicultural education: A teachers guide to linking context process, and content. Merrill, Columbus, OH
Hoekstra H. (1998) The storytellers of our time. Momentum 29(2):39–40
Knight, M., Dixon, I., Author, N., & Bentley, C. (2006). Critical literacies as feminist affirmations and interventions: Puerto Rican and Dominican college bound female youth. In: D. Delgado Bernal, C. Alejandra Elenes, F. Gonzalez, & S. Villenas (Eds.), Chicana/Latina feminist pedagogies and epistemologies of everyday life (pp. 39–58). Albany, NY: SUNY Press
Knight M., Author N, Bentley C., Dixon I. (2004) The power of Black and Latina/o counterstories: Urban families and college-going processes. Anthropology & Education 35(1):99–120
Ladson-Billings G. (1994) The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. Jossey-Bass, Inc, San Francisco, CA
Lopez G. (2001) The value of hard work: Lessons on parent involvement from an (im)migrant household. Harvard Educational Review 71(3):417–437
Lovecky D. (1998) Spiritual sensitivity in gifted children. Roeper Review 20:178–193
Lyons N., Laboskey V. K. (2002) Narrative inquiry in practice: Advancing the knowledge of teaching. Teachers College Press, New York
Madriz E. I. (1998) Using focus groups with lower socioeconomic status Latina women. Qualitative Inquiry 4(1):114–128
Marshall C., Rossman G. B. (1999) Designing qualitative research. (3). Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA
Martin J. (2000) More than chains and toil: A Christian work ethic of enslaved women. Westminister John Knox Press, Louisville, KY
Mercado C. (1998) When young people from marginalized communities enter the world of ethnographic research: Scribing, planning, reflecting and sharing. In A. Egan-Robertson, D. Bloome (eds.) Students as researchers of culture and language in their own communities. Hampton Press, Inc, Cresskill, NJ, pp. 69–92
Meyer R. J. (1996) Stories from the heart: Teachers and students researching their literacy lives. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ
Minh-ha T. (1989) Woman, native, other. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN
Mitchem S. (2002) Introducing womanist theology. Orbis Books, New York
Moraga C., Anzaldua G. (1984) This bridge called my back: Writings by radical women of color. Third Woman Press, Berkley, CA
Morgan D. (1997) Focus groups as qualitative research. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA
Myers J., Hammett R., Mckillop A. M. (2000) Connecting, exploring, and exposing the self in hypermedia projects. In: M. A. Gallego, S. Hollingsworth (eds.) What counts as literacy: Challenging the school standard. Teachers College Press, New York, NY pp. 85–105
Oesterreich, H., & Norton N. (2004, April). The right to voice and authorship:“Researching back” for Black and Latina/o youth and children. Paper presented at the annual conference of The American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA
Oldfather P. (1995) Songs come back most to them: Students’ experiences as researchers. Theory into Practice 34(2):131–137
Palmer P. (2003) Teaching with heart and soul: Reflections on spirituality and teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education 54(5):376–385
Parker L., Lynn M. (2002) What’s race got to do with it? Critical race theory’s conflicts with and connections to qualitative research methodology and epistemology. Qualitative Inquiry 8(1):7–22
Rogovin P. (1998) Classroom interviews. Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH
Rogovin P. (2001) The research workshop: Bringing the world into your classroom. Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH
Sams J. (1994) The 13 original clan mothers: Your sacred path to discovering the gifts, talents, and abilities of the feminine through the ancient teachings of the sisterhood. Harper, San Francisco, CA
Short K. G., Kauffman G. (2000) Exploring sign systems within an inquiry system. In M. A. Gallego, S. Hollingsworth (eds.) What counts as literacy: Challenging the school standard. Teachers College Press, New York, NY, pp. 42–61
Solorzano D. G., Yosso T. J. (2001) From racial stereotyping and deficit discourse toward a critical race theory in teacher education. Multicultural Education 9(1):2–8
Strauss A., Corbin J. (1998) Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2). Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA
Thornton M. (1999) The professional is the personal: Personal identity and research. In: C. Grant (ed.) Multicultural research: A reflective engagement with race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. Falmer Press/Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia, PA. pp. 131–144
Trinidad Galvan R. (2001) Portraits of mujeres desjuiciadas: Womanist pedagogies of the everyday, the mundane and the ordinary. Qualitative Studies in Education 14(5):603–621
Wade-Gayles G. (1995) My soul is a witness: African-American women’s spirituality. Beacon Press, Boston, MA
Weaver J. (1997) That the people might live: Native American literatures and Native American community. Oxford University Press, New York, NY
Williams D. (1995) Sisters in the wilderness. Orbis Books, New York, NY
Valenzuela A. (1999) Subtractive schooling: U.S.-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. State University of New York Press, New York
Villenas S., Moreno M. (2001) To valerse por si misma between race, capitalism, and patriarchy: Latina mother–daughter pedagogies in North Carolina. Qualitative Studies in Education 14(5):671–687
Viruru R. (2001) Early childhood education: Postcolonial perspectives from India. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Dr. Nadjwa E. L. Norton is an Assistant Professor in the Literacy Department at City College, CUNY. Her scholarship focuses on multiple literacies practices, spirituality, teacher education, equity-oriented multicultural education, and collaborative qualitative research designs. Address correspondence to Dr. Nadjwa E. L. Norton, Department of Literacy NAC 6/207, The City College of New York, 138th Street & Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA; e-mail: nnorton@ccny.cuny.edu.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Norton, N.E.L. Talking Spirituality with Family Members: Black and Latina/o Children Co-researcher Methodologies. Urban Rev 38, 313–334 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-006-0036-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-006-0036-4