Doctoral Candidate Brochure: Andrea D. Sanchez
Doctoral Dissertation Defense
of
Andrea D. Sanchez
For the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Curriculum and Instruction
Unruly Literacies: Silence, Embodiment(s), and Becoming in Kindergarten Documentation Practices
August 13, 2025
10:30 a.m.
Microsoft Teams
Meeting ID: 215 885 026 625 0
Passcode: Yv6we9s
Unruly Literacies: Silence, Embodiment(s), and Becoming in Kindergarten Documentation Practices
This study explores how young children make meaning through digital documentation practices in a public kindergarten classroom. Drawing on post-qualitative inquiry and critical posthumanist theory, 14 child co-researchers used iPads to document moments, materials, and relationships that mattered to them. Data engagement followed a "thinking with" approach, attuned to affective, material, and embodied entanglements. Findings highlight three central movements emerging from the assemblage: documentation as unruly placemaking, resistance to institutional logics through desiring silence, and a practice of embodied literacies. This study challenges normative constructions of childhood and literacy by centering children's epistemological contributions and multimodal meaning-making methodological and pedagogical insights from reimagining research and early education as sites of relational, creative, and justice-oriented possibility.
About the Candidate
Andrea D. Sanchez
M.A. Elementary Education: Literacy
The University of Akron, 2023
M.A. Curriculum and Instruction
The University of Akron, 2014
B.S. Early Childhood Education
The University of Akron, 2011
B.A. English
California State University, 2007
A.S. Child Development
Fresno City College, 2006
Andrea brings over two decades of experience in early childhood education having served as a preschool paraprofessional, preschool teacher, and, for the past 14 years, as a public school kindergarten teacher. Her professional practice is grounded in a deep respect for young children's capabilities and voices.
Andrea's research interests center on positioning children as co-researchers and meaning-makers within participatory and play-based contexts. Drawing on post-qualitative and relational approaches, her research aims to challenge dominant, adult-centered narratives in early childhood education by foregrounding the rights, agency, and lived experiences of children within classroom and research settings.
Doctoral Dissertation Committee
Co-Directors
Janice Kroeger, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies
College of Education, Health and Human Services
Jackie Ridley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies
College of Education, Health and Human Services
Members
George Kamberelis, Ph.D.
Director and Professor
School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies
College of Education, Health and Human Services
Amy Walker, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies
College of Education, Health and Human Services
Graduate Faculty Representative
Jennifer Cunningham, Ph.D.
Department of English
College of Arts and Sciences