Access Type

Open Access Dissertation

Date of Award

January 2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

First Advisor

Sandra Gonzales

Abstract

Existing education research has identified a series of factors that impact student identity formation, belonging, and academic performance in secondary and post-secondary education. Such research usually focuses on one to two identity groups - like ethnicity and gender or sexuality and disability. However, very few center on the experiences of queer, disabled, students of color. Using a decolonial methodological approach to qualitative research. This dissertation uses Chicana/Indigenous epistemologies as research methodologies to identify challenges students of multiple marginalized identities encounter in schooling and how they might find strength in their elders and cultural stories. The findings encourage educators to normalize mistakes, avoid assumptions, and embrace fluidity to foster a more inclusive and socially just approach to their pedagogy.

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