Question One: Analysing The Intersectional Educational Disadvantage of Multiply-Marginalized Students Using CRT and Capital
Question One: Analysing The Intersectional Educational Disadvantage of Multiply-Marginalized Students Using CRT and Capital
Question One: Analysing The Intersectional Educational Disadvantage of Multiply-Marginalized Students Using CRT and Capital
Race, ethnicity, and class are highly dynamic social constructions of identity which
have both symbolic and material impacts (Anthias, 2001) on students’ educational aspirations
and further life outcomes. As such, the experiences of “multiply-marginalized people” (Choo
& Ferree, 2010, p. 131) will be examined through an intersectional framework, particularly
making use of critical race theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995) and Bourdieu’s (1986,
1989) concept of capital, to explore the ways in which racist and classist discourses are
al., 2012). These theories will be explored in terms of their application to my future praxis,
In order to explore the ways in which educational aspirations and life outcomes
intersect with these axes of identity, it is vital to reflect on the ways in which discourses of
race, ethnicity, and class are bound by “social relations and historical context” (Ansell, 2013,
p. 49). As best stated by Hancock (2013, p. 259), these categories of differentiation based on
race, ethnicity, and class are "social constructions that, through the diffusion of power
relationships, have vastly material effects”. Although race, ethnicity, and class have hitherto
people, these identities and their associated oppressions are not experienced in isolation
perspective of identity, wherein which each axis of identity and their corresponding
oppressions are overlaid and experienced individually from the other (Flintoff, Fitzgerald &
Scraton, 2008, p. 75). Rather, these identities interrelate (Anderson, 1996; McCall, 2001) to
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through racist and classist practice and policy on systemic, institutional and structural levels,
also referred to as a “matrix of domination” (Hatt-Echeverria & Urrieta, 2003, p. 40; Collins,
1990).
reasonable to defer to education as a means through which to ‘even the playing field’, as
education has been historically portrayed as “the great leveller of social inequalities” (Adams,
1977, p. 298). However, the education system is structured within the framework of the
dominant culture, and thus reflects the discourses that facilitate disadvantage on broader
institutional, social, and cultural scales (Freire, 1970). As such, despite idealistic
systemic injustice, education often functions to construct and reaffirm existing social
inequalities (Ballantine & Spade, 2011; Martino, Mills & Lingard, 2005; Cumming-Potvin,
2007).
through the use of critical race theory (CRT) (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). CRT
emphasises the ways in which whiteness is constructed and valued in society, which provides
unearned privileges for white people and facilitates significant disadvantage for people of
colour (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). The need for critical self-reflection on and the radical
deconstruction of the individual biases and larger social structures which perpetuate social
inequality (Lampert, Burnett & Morse, 2015). Although CRT specifically refers to race and
whiteness, I argue that the critical focus on deconstructing the oppressive discourses which
are embedded in individual socialisation and larger institutions is also valuable in examining
class-based inequalities.
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According to CRT, (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995) the ubiquity of white, middle-
class perspectives leads to these perspectives becoming normalised and seen as “universal” in
the education system (Young, 1990, p. 59). These ways of knowing shrink from the collective
consciousness, providing an “unmarked racialised and classed frame” from which the world
is perceived and valued (Mills & Keddie, 2012, “Research design and processes”, para. 4).
As such, white, middle-class perspectives become “invisible” through their saturation of the
education system, and therefore largely avoid the critical inquiry necessary for socially
equitable schooling (Mills & Keddie, 2012, “Research design and processes”, para. 4.)
from the assumed white, middle-class perspective ironically have heightened visibility in the
education system. Young (1990) argues that the underrepresented minority groups become
conspicuous due to their difference from dominant identities, and are thereby constructed as
distinctly “Other” (p. 59). Deviation from the dominant practices and perspectives is
perceived to be a marker of deficiency, and therefore these students’ identities and practices
behavioural management, are developed through this white, middle class invisibility and the
othering of marginalised students. This is also intricately bound with the subjectivities of
(Lampert, Burnett & Morse, 2015, p. 77), the reproduction of deficit perspectives to explain
the time. From the outset, Australian schools are built on a foundation that privileges white,
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(Hickling-Hudson & Ahlquist, 2003). For example, this is reflected in the stage 6 English
curriculum’s prescribed texts (Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards, 2014).
The requirement to study a “Shakespearean Drama” (p. 5) reflects the high value that white,
white, Western authors (and proportionate lack of perspectives from women, people of
colour, and non-Europeans) reflects the ways in which classism and racism systemically
The educational privileges for white, high SES students in terms of epistemology and
pedagogy can be related to Bourdieu’s (1986) concept of capital. ‘Capital’ refers to the
qualities and resources which are valued in the dominant society. Bourdieu outlines three
types of capital as follows: “economic capital” (p. 253), referring to economic resources and
assets; “social capital” (p. 251) as the benefits afforded through social ties and interactions;
and “cultural capital” (p. 247) as the advantages gained through the cultural knowledge of
dominant social groups. Later, Bourdieu added the concept of “symbolic capital” (1989, p.
23), which refers to the benefits gained through prestige and recognition.
White, high SES students are advantaged in the education system, in that they tend to
have higher levels of these four forms of capital than multiply-marginalized students.
reproduces itself and broadens an individual’s agency to attain capital in other forms
(Bourdieu, 1989, p. 21). As such, low SES individuals and people of colour tend to lack
social and class mobility, as those with high levels of capital perpetuate the pre-existing
structures which marginalise these individuals, thus continuing the cycle of social and class
inequality.
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In terms of policy, the Australian education system does acknowledge the growing
needs of racially and ethnically diverse students. For example, the Melbourne Declaration on
Training and Youth Affairs, 2008) emphasises the need to “nurture an appreciation of and
respect for social, cultural, and religious diversity” (p. 4), and the NSW Multicultural
teaching practices” (Objective 1.3) which “respect the cultural, linguistic and religious
backgrounds of all students and promote an open and tolerant attitude towards cultural
diversity” (Objective 1.2). Likewise, the NSW Anti-Racism Policy (NSW Department of
Education, 2005b) aims for the “elimination of racial discrimination” (Objective 1.1) in all
areas of school, including “learning and working environments” (Objective 1.3). These
policies lay the foundation to criticise and challenge dominant discourses which privilege
Although these policies theoretically reflect some of the tenants of critical race theory,
an examination of students’ educational aspirations and other life outcomes reveals the
lower than their peers” (Kenway, 2013, p. 288), in all areas of schooling (Gonski, et al.,
2011) and particularly in standardised tests (Bécares & Priest, 2015). The extensive forms of
poorer long-term life outcomes that result from educational disengagement and lower
academic achievement are particularly worrisome. Blanden, Hansen & Machin (2008, p. 7)
opportunities,” in terms of both lower earning rates and levels of employment. This correlates
with the lower occupational aspirations that marginalised students tend to have than their
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peers, (Howard et al., 2010) and can be linked to the lower physical health outcomes which
are experienced by these marginalised groups (Bécares & Priest, 2015). Further, racially and
with increased psychological distress and risk of mental illness” (Ferdinand, Paradies &
These disadvantages in life outcomes for minorities are intergenerational. These lower
children from low SES and minority racial/ethnic backgrounds are generally disadvantaged
by low levels of literacy and numeracy before they even begin at primary school (Lee &
Burkam, 2002). Moreover, these children are systemically funnelled into inferior schools,
unlike white students from high SES backgrounds, whose families are generally afforded the
privilege to be selective about their schooling choices as a result of financial and social
Moreover, minority students are more likely to have lower educational aspirations
than their peers. Ray (2006) outlines the concept of the “aspirations window” (p. 410),
suggesting that an individual’s aspirations are broadly predetermined by the capital and life
outcomes that they observe being reached by those in their own communities. The
observation of the lower levels of academic achievement, occupational engagement and other
windows of low SES and racially/ethnically diverse students. As such, the intergenerational
marginalised groups.
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disadvantaged students have historically been mobilised to explain the inequalities in student
achievement, without enforcing the need to address the wider social, economic, and political
contexts which contribute to these inequalities. As such, it is vital to critically re-centre the
towards challenging the structures which actually produce and perpetuate these inequalities.
These disadvantages in aspirations and life outcomes are a poignant reflection of the
However, despite the ways in which the education system reproduces social inequalities, it is
vital to note that this is not a deterministic assessment of the nature of education overall. In
fact, the education system can function to empower marginalised students by critically
challenging the systems and discourses which privilege particular identities (McLaren, 2003).
While there are needs to transform the current Australian educational policy and curriculum
to reflect a more culturally responsive practice, teachers currently in the field can make
significant changes to the experiences of their students through the adoption of a critical
pedagogy. As outlined by Ferfolja, Diaz & Ullman (2015), critical pedagogy aims to “bring
about a more just and equitable world for marginal and minority communities” (p. 13)
through the deconstruction of “normative assumptions about the world” (p. 12).
privileged Eurocentric values, beliefs, and discourses. This middle-class, white identity has
afforded me significant economic and symbolic privileges (Liu, Pickett & Ivey, 2007; Harris,
family, I was socialised to ascribe to the meritocratic perspective that hard work, a positive
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attitude, and a little talent would produce results (McNamee & Miller, 2009). As such, my
produce cultural, social, economic and symbolic capital (Bourdieu, 1986), which correspond
with my “white, middle-class privilege” (Liu, Pickett & Ivey, 2007, p. 195; McIntosh, 2012).
perpetuating discourses of “colour blindness” (Lampert, Burnett & Morse, 2015, p. 82),
which deny systemic racial oppression in a naïve attempt to deracialise the classroom.
Moreover, I may habitually “default[] to deficit” (p. 83) about students from minority
reflection on these biases in order to support a greater understanding of the challenges that
and curriculum content to support a more equitable educational experience (Grant & Zwier,
2011). As a pre-service English teacher, intersectional pedagogical practices may involve the
structuring of tasks to meet different academic needs. On an ethical level, the challenging of
racist discourses and the necessity to support marginalised students are at the forefront of my
intended praxis. I intend to facilitate greater understanding of the social structures which
the ways in which disparities in capital can impact upon access and equity (Bourdieu, 1986;
Bourdieu, 1989)
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terms of classist practices and policies of access, inclusion, and equality, there is hope for
students’ experiences of inequality will assist in greater understanding students needs, which
embodies the qualities of CRT, I can make a material difference to the disadvantage which
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