‘Where do you feel it most?’ Using body mapping to explore the lived experiences of racism with 10- and 11-year-olds

Gorell Barnes, Luci; Podpadec, Tessa; Jones, Verity; Vafadari, Justin; Pawson, Chris; Whitehouse, Sarah; Richards, Malcolm

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the arts-based methodology used in a research project that aimed to explore the impact of the lived experiences of racism on 10- and 11-year-old children in the United Kingdom. The research responds to the relative lack of literature concerning the racialised experiences of young children. We discuss how we developed the arts-based method of body mapping as an ethical approach to foregrounding the children's voices. We consider that this approach contributes to knowledge and understanding about exploring the nuanced and complex relationship between the children's external worlds and their internal feelings, and supporting them to process and communicate this. We suggest that the method presented is transferable, and present our ethically engaged, arts-based planning framework that can be used if others wish to adopt this way of working.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 12, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Feb 13, 2024
• Publication Date: Jun 5, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jan 16, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 14, 2024
• Journal: British Educational Research Journal
• Print ISSN: 0141-1926
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-3518
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 1556-1575
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3980
• Keywords: accompaniment, mental health, children's voice, children, body mapping, impact of racism, wellbeing, arts‐based research methods
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11615459
• Additional Information: This paper presents a creative approach to capture, value and share experiences of racism internalised by children aged 10 to 11 years. We apply Watkin’s (2018) model of psychological accompaniment to support a shift of research towards individual empowerment through arts-based activity and non-hierarchical dialogue. The underpinning methodology facilitated a polyvocal account, amplification and empowerment of children’s voices. It presupposes an emerging body of evidence of how persistent racial discrimination, both direct and indirect, have a harmful effect on young children’s physical and mental health (Shepherd, 2017). In recognition of the correlation between psychosocial, academic and health-related benefits of a positive ethnic and racial identity, we present a reflexive, arts-based research method that provides the conditions which may cultivate children’s exploration of the meaning of group membership and identity, whilst simultaneously supporting participant and researcher wellbeing. In this process the challenges and opportunities for cultural, social and epistemological change are discussed in consideration of research at a larger scale.