Intersectional Identity in Education Setting – Challenges and Solutions

Educational experience significantly influences children’s cognitive abilities, academic achievement, and life outcomes including their socioemotional and psychological development. Educational settings become more conducive to the optimal holistic development of children of all backgrounds and social identities as an antidote to inequality and underdevelopment. Students are disadvantaged by multiple intersecting identity markers that serve as axes of oppression including gender, race, culture, religion, socioeconomic status, immigration status, language, and disability. This research project will focus on high schools in Philadelphia and across Pakistan to investigate (i) how social identity shapes student educational experiences, opportunities, and access, (ii) the root causes and contextual mediators of these phenomena and trends, (iii) how school leadership can foster and ongoingly support more equitable educational environments, and (iv) what are the similarities and differences in how intersectional identities play out in educational settings across South-North. This study will add to the existing knowledge base of school leaders, international organizations, and policy makers, and support their efforts to ensure equitable environment and educational opportunities for all children.