Intersectionality for Educational Policy Research

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate the utility of Intersectionality as a theoretical and methodological approach for critical educational policy research. Intersectionality was born from the experiences, knowledge, and praxis of U.S-based Black feminists/feminisms as a powerful heuristic to illuminate intertwined systems of power (e.g., gender, race, class) experienced in everyday life in and outside of schools. The authors argue that to transform the intersectional coloniality of power, shaping and shaped by educational policy analyses, we must start by revealing and critiquing the history and complexity of that basis of power and do so from the voices and perspectives of those who have been marginalized in our education systems. The chapter includes an intellectual genealogy as well as examples of how it has and can be adapted for critical studies. To conclude, we discuss what is still missing in intersectional educational policy research.

Keywords: intersectionality; feminism; educational policy; policy; policy analysis