Study Status
Closed
Project Team
Principal Investigator(s): Leah Peña Teeters, PhD; Adriana Alvarez,PhD
Research Team Members: Elena Aranda; Polet Carrasco; Emily Gleason; Deena Gumina; Mónica Lozano; Iris Morales; Adria Padilla-Chavez; Michelle Shedro, MA; Kathy Schultz, PhD; Blanca Trejo Aguilera; Mabel Weber; Julia C. Zigarelli, PhD
Alignment with Crown Institute Vision
This study explores how schools can foster belonging and trust for students and communities. It emphasizes pedagogical approaches that center students’ lives and experiences through multimodal approaches, especially for those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Background & Context
The relationships children have with their parents and teachers, and the environmental contexts of home and school play a critical role in how children develop socially, emotionally, and cognitively (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2012). In the context of schools, the impact of positive relationships on well-being has been well documented (Berger et al., 2019; Roehlkepartain et al., 2017; Roorda et al., 2017). Relationships that are characterized by trust and belonging can positively contribute to well-being (Morsillo & Prilleltensky, 2007; Snyder et al., 2003). As schools seek to design enduring programs and pedagogical practices of support, it is critical that the experiences, cultures, and perspectives of young people are valued and incorporated as a guiding strength into the design of the programs and pedagogies themselves (Teeters et al., 2022).
Primary Aims
1. How can schools create structures with and for youth that support their well-being? 2. How can multimodal testimonios support students in identifying distrust and articulating a sense of belonging?
2. How can multimodal testimonios support students in identifying distrust and articulating a sense of belonging?
3. How can multimodal testimonios support educators and leaders in schools in enacting culturally sustaining pedagogies? 4. How can educators use multimodal approaches and pedagogies to identify and integrate funds of identity and knowledge into classroom learning?
4. How can educators use multimodal approaches and pedagogies to identify and integrate funds of identity and knowledge into classroom learning?
Research Methods
The study uses multimodal testimonios to explore student experiences and support culturally sustaining pedagogies through ethnographic qualitative methods of data collection and analysis.
Key Findings & Publications /
Presentations
Selected Publications
Alvarez, A., Teeters, L. P., Penuel, W. R., & Esteban-Guitart, M. (2023). Considerations to engage a funds of identity approach as a vehicle toward epistemic justice in educational settings. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 40, 100718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2023.100718
Teeters, L. P., Shedro, M., Alvarez, A., Schultz, K., Gleason, E., Zigarelli, J. C. & Trejo, B., (2023). Circles de confianza: using multimodal testimonios to build culturally sustaining schools. Enthography and Education, 18:4, 356-375. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2023.2252547
Teeters, L. P., Trejo, B., Gleason, E., Zigarelli, J. C., Shedro, M., Alvarez, A., & Schultz, K. (2022). Circles de confianza: Promoting the well-being of Latine Youth via Multimodal Testimonio. Journal of Latinos and Education, 1 13. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2022.2096028
Alvarez, A. (2023). Multimodal Pedagogical Approaches to Center the Funds of Knowledge and Identity of Latinx/e Children from Immigrant Backgrounds in U.S. Classroom Settings. In Esteban-Guitart, M. (Ed.), Funds of Knowledge and Identity Pedagogies for Social Justice: International Perspectives and Praxis from Communities, Classrooms, and Curriculum (pp.165-179). Routledge.
Alvarez, A. (2022). Multimodality as a Pathway to Bilingual Learners’ Funds of Knowledge. In L. Hao & S. Brown (Eds.), Multimodal Literacies in Young Emergent Bilinguals: Speaking Back to Print-Centric Practices (pp. 147-159). Multilingual Matters.
Selected Presentations
Peña Teeters, L. P. & Alvarez, A. (2025, April). Centering the Heart through Multimodal Approaches. Paper session. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting (AERA). Denver, CO.
Alvarez, A. & Peña Teeters, L. P. (2025, March). Multimodal Testimonio as Research Methodology and Pedagogical Approach. Colloquium: Equity, Social Justice, and the Arts: How Arts-Based Methodologies can serve as Community-Accountable Research in Applied Linguistics. American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Denver, CO.
Alvarez, A. & L.P. Teeters. (2024, June). From Theory to Praxis: Engaging Multimodality, Agency, and Imagination within Funds of Knowledge and Identity Pedagogical Approaches in U.S. Classrooms. Symposium: Principles and Praxis to Engage a Funds of Knowledge Approach for Social Justice Purposes in International Contexts.
Anthropology and Education International Conference, Royal Anthropological Institute. London, UK.
Alvarez, A. (2022, December). Multimodality as a Pathway to Bilingual Learners’ Funds of Knowledge. Symposium session: Multimodal Literacies in Emergent Bilinguals: Beyond Print-Centric Practices. Literacy Research Association Annual Conference (LRA). Phoenix, AZ.
Alvarez, A. (2021, November). Ethnographic Fieldwork through Experiential Knowledge and Multimodal Projects with Young Latinx Children. Symposium session: Young Children of Color as Experts: Examples from Five Ethnographic Studies with Latinx and Indigenous Communities. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting (AAA). Baltimore, MD.
Alvarez, A., Peña Teeters, L. & Shedro, M. (2021, November). Multimodal Testimonios of Trust and Distrust of Latinx Families in Schools. Symposium session: The Power of Comunidad: Building Solidarity A Lado de Families and Communities. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). St. Louis, Missouri.
Alvarez, A., Gleason, E., Peña Teeters, L., Shedro, M., Schultz, K. & Aranda, E. (2021, April). Relationships de Confianza: Trust and Distrust in Latinx Family-School Relationships. Paper session. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting (AERA). Virtual conference.
Padilla-Chavez, A., Alvarez, A., Shedro, M. & Peña Teeters, L. (2022, April). The Multimodal Testimonios of 5th Graders: Co-designing with Teachers to Integrate Experiential Knowledge. Paper session. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting (AERA). San Diego, CA.
Trejo, B., Peña Teeters, L., Zigarelli, J., Gleason, E., Shedro, M. & Alvarez, A. (2022, April). Circles de Confianza: Promoting the Well-being of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Youth via Multimodal Testimonio. Roundtable session. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting (AERA). San Diego, CA.
Alvarez, A. (December 2022). Fortaleciendo la equidad educativa y colaboraciones entre las escuelas y familias migrantes en los Estados Unidos. Conferencia Magistral. Segundo Coloquio Internacional de Migración: Movilidades desbordadas en mundos desiguales. Departamento de Estudios Culturales, Demográficos y Políticos, Universidad de Guanajuato. Guanajuato, México.
Alvarez, A. (2022, July). Cultivating Equity by Valuing and Integrating Students’ Identities, Experiences, and Families in Classroom Learning. Equity Speaker Series, MANAUS and TACAW. Basalt, Colorado.
Alvarez, A. (2022, April). Empowering BIPOC students' voices in the classroom: Preventing the erasure of students’ differing identities, histories, and current realities. Symposium panel with Nancy Commins, Rebecca Linares, and Kara Viesca. Conference on World Affairs. Boulder, CO.
Alvarez, A. (July, 2023). Lo que permanece: Relatos de niñas y niños migrantes. Encuentro Internacional sobre Movilidad Humana. Dirección de Derechos Humanos de la Secretaría General de Gobierno del Estado de Nuevo León. Monterrey, Nuevo León, México.
Curricular Resources
Funds of Identity: Artists’ Books (Found in the Renée Crown Wellness Institute Participatory Toolkit)
Contact to Learn More
References
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491.
Moll, L. C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonz´alez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory Into Practice, 31(2), 132–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849209543534 National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices.
Esteban-Guitart, M. (2012). Towards a multimethodological approach to identification of funds of identity, small stories and master narratives. Narrative Inquiry, 22 (1), 173–180. https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.22.1.12est
Hogg, L., & Volman, M. (2020). A synthesis of funds of identity research: Purposes, tools, pedagogical approaches, and outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 90(6), 862-895.