Living as Mapmakers (PDF)

While teacher knowledge is well-researched and
conceptualized, parent knowledge remains largely unstudied. In response, this
book details Pushor's conceptualization of parent knowledge, the unique
knowledge that arises from the lived experiences of being a parent, knowledge
that is relational, bodied and embodied, intuitive, intimate, and uncertain.
Drawing from her narrative inquiry into parent knowledge, Pushor shares and
unpacks the stories of one participant as a way to provide a close up view of
the parent knowledge a First Nations father held and used in living with and
educating his children. Twelve teachers and parents then put forward their
individual and contextual experiences immersed in explorations and use of
parent knowledge, attending to the questions, How can what parents know enhance
schooling experiences for children? How can parent knowledge, used alongside
teacher knowledge, inform decisions made in schools and enhance curricular
programming and outcomes for children?

Using the metaphor of maps ... of mapmaking ... of
living as mapmakers, this book is a storied account of the new practices in
which parents and teachers engaged to enable parent knowledge to guide their
work with children. It is an honest and vulnerable account of their journeys.
The authors puzzle over the complexities and the successes of their work and
the resulting impact on children, parents, and teachers. This book is an
invitation to educators and parents to consider how to walk alongside one
another, using both teacher and parent knowledge, for the benefit of children's
learning and wellbeing.