Oppositionally‐intertwined ecologies: A single‐system, multi‐theory mapping of marginalized students’ experiences

Abstract

This chapter offers a “single‐system, multi‐theory” approach to understanding and improving the “oppositionally‐intertwined” ecologies of marginalized students as they navigate to and through higher education. Drawing from research conducted with Indigenous students in Peru, we use Ecological Systems Theory (EST) as a schematic for visualizing students’ experiences and two theoretical perspectives to illuminate the forces they encounter. We demonstrate how this approach can help educators identify leverage points that can result in both immediate and systemic change to improve educational opportunities and outcomes.Practical Takeaways Marginalized students live in a complex system of multiple, often intertwined forces that both oppress and support them. Ecological systems theory provides a schematic for visualizing forces, tensions, and interconnections, within students’ systems. Using multiple theories to analyze students’ experiences can help educators form more comprehensive understandings of students’ ecological systems and how to affect change within it.