Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Pedagogies for and by Black and Latinx Preservice Physical Education Teachers

Abstract

Introduction: Physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) are informed by whiteness, resulting in marginalization and forced hypervisibility for community members of color. Culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies (CRSP) facilitate “within group . . . [and] across-group cultural practices” for students and teachers of color to thrive. Purpose: This study highlights CRSP grounded in the experiences of Black and Latinx preservice PE teachers enrolled in predominantly White PETE programs. Methods: For this qualitative visual inquiry, 10 Black and Latinx PETE students each completed three interviews, coupled with participant-generated imagery. Data were analyzed inductively and deductively. Results: Students’ narratives included “othering” and hypervisibility. Participants’ understandings of CRSP illustrated the meaning-making they associated with CRSP. Participants identified co-conspirators, sources of support, and PETE pedagogies within a CRSP framework. Conclusion: The narratives support the call to embed CRSP within PETE programs to center students’ diverse cultural and ethnic identities.