African American Women’s Barriers to Higher Education

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Importance of the Feminist Theory for Research
The Critical Role of Black Feminism
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Research on African American women’s barriers to higher education is often placed in the context of the feminist theory. This approach allows for explaining how the categories of gender and race in the case of Black feminism contribute to understanding African American females’ experiences at higher educational institutions. The importance of the feminist theory for this research, and the Black feminist theory in particular, is in the fact that this framework explains why African American women can face certain challenges and barriers while obtaining their higher education with reference to the connected categories of gender and race.

The Importance of the Feminist Theory for Research

The application of the feminist theory is important for the current research because this comparably modern framework explicates social processes in which women are involved. The research based on this theory challenges the specifics of obtaining higher education for women focusing on the concept of gender. As a result, this theory is essential to explain the subjective experiences of women in higher educational institutions with reference to such categories as gender power, discrimination, inequality, and oppression (Bartman, 2015; Davis & Maldonado, 2015). Thus, the oppression of women and their inequality in comparison to men are the key themes related to the feminist theory (Davis & Maldonado, 2015). The focus on these concepts and themes is important for this research in order to illustrate what obstacles or barriers can be experienced by women on their path to academic progress.

This theory creates a framework, within which it is possible to regard the lived experiences of women obtaining higher education through the lenses of their gender. This category can be potentially influential when explaining such topics as female interactions in institutions, mentorship, leadership, academic success, women in STEM fields, and others (Marbley et al., 2013; Squire & McCann, 2018). Therefore, the feminist theory helps to explain why women in society can experience obstacles when trying to receive the higher education because of their gender.

The Critical Role of Black Feminism

In the 1980s, researchers developed the black feminist theory for the purpose of accentuating the oppression of women depending on their race. The importance of this theoretical paradigm for the current research on African American women and higher education barriers is in emphasizing the connection between gender and race to explain Black females’ challenges. According to the developers of the theory and researchers, who applied the feminist approach in their studies, the problem is in the marginalization of African American women, stereotypes, and biases that lead to high levels of discrimination in the educational environment (Davis & Maldonado, 2015). The critical role of focusing on feminist theories is in the fact that women experience different barriers in educational institutions in comparison to men. Furthermore, African American women usually have other experiences than White women (Squire & McCann, 2018). As a result, the academic path of women as representatives of different races can differ, and Black feminism allows for explaining African American female lived experiences in much detail.

Conclusion

The examination of the experiences of African American women with a focus on possible higher education barriers requires the application of the most appropriate theoretical model to explain the findings. In this context, the feminist theory is critically important and useful for this research because it provides the answers to the question of why women of color can face certain obstacles in comparison to other women or in comparison to men. Black feminism represents a more focused model for discussing the cases of women of color in education, and this theory contributes to avoiding the separation of the gender and race concepts in examining the problem of higher education barriers.

References

Bartman, C. C. (2015). African American women in higher education: Issues and support strategies. College Student Affairs Leadership, 2(2), 4-9.

Davis, D. R., & Maldonado, C. (2015). Shattering the glass ceiling: The leadership development of African American women in higher education. Advancing Women in Leadership Journal, 35, 48-64.

Marbley, A. F., Bonner II, F. A., Williams, V. A., Morris, P., Ross, W., & Burley, H. (2013). Developmental education: Preparing white campuses for African-American students. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 13(2), 91-112.

Squire, D. D., & McCann, K. (2018). Women of color with critical worldviews constructing spaces of resistance in education doctoral programs. Journal of College Student Development, 59(4), 404-420.

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African American Women’s Barriers to Higher Education

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