Graffiti Pedagogy in Practice: Innovating Curriculum Design through Street Art and Urban Expression | Chapter 8 | Walls That Teach: Graffiti, Education and the Pedagogy of Resistance

 

Graffiti, often perceived as an act of rebellion, holds immense educational potential when reframed as a pedagogical tool. This chapter explores graffiti pedagogy as an innovative approach to curriculum design, infusing urban expression into formal education to nurture creativity, critical thinking, and cultural awareness. Systematic review approach guided the definition of themes, setting the inclusion criteria, conducting literature search, assessing quality, extracting data and synthesising findings. Rooted in the intersection of street art and education, graffiti pedagogy positions visual and textual markings as a form of discourse that challenges traditional learning environments. By probing graffiti as a dynamic medium for storytelling, identity formation, and social commentary, lecturers can harness its transformative power to engage students from diverse backgrounds. Drawing on case studies such as the “Walls That Teach” initiative at a Johannesburg high school, where students co-created murals reflecting local history, and a university-level “Graffiti & Resistance” seminar in São Paulo that used street art tours and tagging workshops to explore political dissent, this chapter highlights the impact of graffiti on student agency, artistic literacy, and community engagement. The discussion is framed within contemporary theories of multimodal learning, critical pedagogy, and participatory education, demonstrating how graffiti can serve as both content and method in curriculum development. Through collaborative mural projects, public art initiatives, and classroom-based graffiti journals, students gain opportunities to express their perspectives while analysing historical and contemporary socio-political movements. Ultimately, graffiti pedagogy reimagines education beyond textbooks and standardised assessments, advocating for an inclusive, experiential learning model. This chapter invites lecturers, curriculum designers, and policymakers to reconsider the value of urban expression as a legitimate and impactful tool for knowledge creation, social critique, and artistic exploration in modern educational spaces.

 

 

Author(s) Details

 

Chikuvadze Pinias
Office for International Affairs, University of the Free State, South Africa.

 

Pazvakavambwa Tabeth Nyarai
Department of Curriculum & Educational Management Studies, Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-47485-01-5/CH8