Co-constructing a pedagogy of radical belonging: plática~testimonio as a methodology in teaching for social justice

Raquel Sáenz Ortiz and F. Zehra Çolak

Chapter 9 in Handbook of Social Justice in Education, 2026, pp 136-149 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Abstract: Pláticas and testimonio are Chicana feminist epistemologies through which knowledge is co-constructed, personal stories are shared, and spaces of healing are created. In this chapter, we highlight how we, two female university teachers of color based in the United States and the Netherlands, used plática~testimonio as a methodology to reflect on and co-construct knowledge on our justice-oriented pedagogical practices over the course of one academic year. We held virtual pláticas and wrote testimonios of our experiences with students, drawing on a radical belonging framework that considers critical care, responsive and collaborative learning, and resistance to systemic oppression as key to the belonging of students. Our plática~testimonios allowed us to be intentional about the ways we were creating spaces of belonging, particularly for students with other marginalized identities, and served as a generative space for sharing our teaching experiences and co-constructing knowledge on justice-oriented pedagogies.

Keywords: Plática~Testimonio; Belonging; Social Justice; Students of Color; Culturally Relevant Pedagogy; Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035318445
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