Exploring the Schooling of Multiply Marginalized Youth of Color (MMYOC) Through Critical Race Mixed Methodology

• In Event: Advancing Socially Just and Antiracist Measures Through Mixed Methods: A Focus on Development and Validation

Abstract

Marginalized Youth of Color–including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian communities–are adolescents, ages 10-19, who “experience racism, discrimination, and exclusion because of unequal power relationships across economic, social, racial, and cultural conditions” (Phan & Renshaw, 2023, p. 256). However, multiply marginalized Youth of Color (MMYOC) have multiple identities (e.g., race, gender, sexuality, disability, social class, citizenship status, etc.) at the intersection of interlocking systems of oppression (Crenshaw, 1991). The challenges that these youth face are exacerbated by school policies and practices that too often lack intersectional sensitivity, leading to increased challenges with discrimination, bullying, and victimization in schools (Denise, 2014; Galán et al., 2021; Mitchell et al., 2020).

Understanding, examining, and ultimately dismantling intersectional challenges that MMYOC face requires multifaceted tools that account for their nuanced realities. Intersectionality is not just concerned with the interplay between race and gender but rather encompasses a constellation of inequalities experienced at the intersection of numerous marginalized identities and systems of oppression, whether due to disability status, foster care history, or criminal record background (Crenshaw, 1991). This framework allows for a deeper understanding of how interconnected dimensions of identity contribute to unique experiences of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality also provides a more nuanced analysis of the complex realities faced by MMYOC.

In this discussion, we assert that Critical Race Mixed Methodology (CRMM), which combines Critical Race Theory (e.g. intersectionality) and mixed methods research, offers a path for examining multiple marginalizations, and subsequently advocates for targeted school policies and practices that are responsive to the needs of MMYOC (Authors, 2020). CRMM is an anti-oppressive methodological tool that may be used to fully capture the breadth and depth of marginalization experienced by MMYOC.

The goal of our presentation is to explicate how researchers might use CRMM to examine the experiences of MMYOC in schools. We begin by examining K-12 schools as an oppressive context and the importance of intersectional approaches more generally in research on MMYOC. Next, we discuss CRT as an intersectionally-conscious framework. Then we critique traditional mixed methods typologies and introduce the CRMM approach to studying MMYOC in schools. In doing so, we explicate the various components of a CRMM study. To effectively engage in CRMM, it is essential to integrate CRT within each stage of a mixed methods design. Specifically, we address reflexivity, the research literature, the crafting of intersectional research questions, sampling strategies, the context of the study, the development of culturally responsive instrumentation, data collection methods, data analysis techniques, the integration of findings, and the establishment of culturally responsive reliability and validity. We end our discussion by providing implications for expanding CRMM within education research.

Through our explication of CRMM, we address the call for advancing socially just and anti-racist research methodology. With the growing interest in the study of race, including the experiences of MMYOC, there is particularly a need for more complex mixed methods designs such as CRMM within education that allows for capturing nuanced intersectional experiences (Nastasi, 2023).

Authors

• Jessica T. Decuir-Gunby, University of Southern California

• Royel M. Johnson, University of Southern California