Chapter 1: Thinking Intersectionally in Education

Educational researchers first noted the need for intersectional theories and intersectionally informed methodologies to address issues of oppression and inequality during the 1980s, but lacked a common language for discussing these concerns (Grant & Sleeter, 1986; McCarthy & Apple, 1988; Sleeter & Grant, 1988). Black feminist theorists (Hill Collins, 1990, 2000; hooks, 1981), Critical Race Theorists (Crenshaw, 1989, 1991), and sociologists (Anthias & Yuval-Davis, 1983) can be credited with the development of a range of intersectionality theories and notions that sought to understand the workings of identity and oppression across a wide range of contexts. Within the past decade, a growing number of education scholars draw on intersectionality to analyze social justice issues in education such as individual experiences and counter-narratives of oppression (Connor, 2006; Staunaes, 2003), groups experiencing intersectional oppression (Gillborn, 2010; Noguera, 2008; Villenas, 2001), and exclusionary policies (Cassidy & Jackson, 2005; Chapman, Lamborn & Epps, 2010; Ravnbol, 2009).