Navigating Marginality: The Somali-Jareer Bantu Experience in Higher Education

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Meritocracy, Marginality, and Digital Inclusion: Global Perspectives on Equity in and Access to Higher Education

Proposal

Despite modern challenges, the U.S. postsecondary system remains a promising social institution serving students from various racial, ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, and educational backgrounds. The globalization of higher education opened our eyes to the world’s interconnectedness. As such, the rapidly evolving landscape of education will attract more students from across the globe, including students from society’s most marginalized populations including Somali-Jareer Bantu learners, an ethnically marginalized population from Somalia. To support the needs of diverse students, educational institutions must understand the ethnic differences and needs of students from Somalia, specifically ethnic minorities who come from multiply marginalized backgrounds. While there have been efforts toward inclusion in higher education, these efforts still need more complete consideration of marginalized student populations (Perna, 2015; Redford & Hoyer, 2017).
Broadly, literature around their experience in education is glaringly limited and often from a restrictive perspective. While the literature may depict Somalia as a homogenous nation, Somalia is far more ethnically diverse and far less egalitarian in its culture (Eno & Eno, 2014). This notion of homogeneity depicts the country as a unified state with one ethnicity and culture whereby all of its citizens are of the same nomadic culture and had equal access to educational opportunities. This notion is problematic as it continues to erase the experience of ethnic minorities (Lehman & Eno, 2003; Ingiriis, 2012). Historically, dominant ethnic Somalians’ claim to ethnic dominance rendered Somali Bantus under ethnic subjugation as mainstream Somalia doesn’t claim them as true Somalians (Eno, 2008). Ultimately, individual educational attainment benefits society's upward mobility, thus improving Somali-Jareer Bantu learners’ college experience requires commitment from the higher education community as the field strives to promote equitable and inclusive structures for all learners.
Purpose & Significance: The purpose of inclusive efforts to transform educational experiences is to account for the further marginalized communities whose existence lacks awareness in these spaces. This study seeks to challenge the homogenous lens of Somalia within the broader educational literature by attending to the lived experiences of Somali-Jareer Bantu students in higher education. Providing equitable opportunities in higher education is crucial for increasing access to educational resources to help improve the experiences of Somali-Jareer Bantu students and raise awareness of their presence. Thus, raising awareness of their presence and experiences is critical to fostering a more inclusive environment in higher education. This study aligns with literature that advances inclusive efforts in higher education (e.g., Author, 2023; Perna, 2015; Petty, 2014; Redford & Hoyer, 2017) and contributes to efforts that aim to create more equitable experiences for Somali-Jareer Bantu learners.
Method: This study integrated in-depth semistructured individual and focus group interviews to provide imperative insights into the lived experiences of Somali-Jareer Bantu learners in the academy. Participants were 14 undergraduate and graduate students, and recently graduated individuals who identified as Somali-Jareer Bantu or Somali Bantu, first-generation, and refugee. The data were coded and analyzed inductively through interpretative phenomenological analysis (Pringle, 2011). This study is guided by the following research question: How do Somali-Jareer Bantu students navigate their educational experience while negotiating their ethnic identity in the academy?
Interpretative framework: This study leveraged Anzaldúa’s (2012) borderlands theory to guide the data analysis. This framework concerns the complexities of navigating multiple, intersecting identities and realities within geographical and psychological borders in varying social worlds where individuals develop a double reality or consciousness as a survival tactic.
One of the findings suggests an institutional lack of support aligned to meet their unique needs. Coupled with feelings of invisibility and othering, participants’ marginalization was further crystalized by the lack of awareness of their presence within the academy which further rendered them vulnerable. Participants reflected on the difficulty of transitioning into higher education while navigating the complexities of their multiply marginalized identities. Results indicate the lack of support and awareness of their presence negatively impacted their educational experience as they grappled with invisibility and othering in higher education.
Discussion & Implications: Literature about Somali-Jareer Bantu students’ experience and presence in higher education remains largely insufficient (Eno & Eno, 2008) largely due to their marginalization in Somalia and institutional lack of awareness. Their marginalization in higher education continues to contribute to the complete dismissal or generalizations of their experience with other minority students, further rendering them invisible. While the literature about their educational experience in the US is often from a limited perspective (Shapiro & MacDonald, 2017), there is also a lack of focus on the complexity of navigating multiple identities and cultures coupled with feelings of invisibility and othering. Historically, the Somali-Jareer Bantu community has long been battling with the complexities of multiple identities and border cultures within waging social worlds. With limited exposure to formal schooling (Jarratt, 2020), they often feel like outsiders in higher education, compelled to negotiate their authentic selves and completely shift how they process their ethnic identity. Due to the lack of awareness and representation of their existence in the literature and higher education (Lehman & Eno, 2003; Roxas, 2010), navigating their educational journey and identities remains a considerable challenge. Thus, they are often forced to compartmentalize their identities, making their ethnicity invisible. When their identity is mixed with those of other minority student populations, they may be tolerated to create a misleading image of inclusivity in higher education. The dismissal of their presence and experiences contributes to a lack of support they desperately need to ease their transition into higher education. Continued institutional lack of awareness or interest in their existence further renders them vulnerable as they are denied access to support services necessary to navigate their educational experiences successfully.
Practitioners and scholars engaged in programming interventions to create equitable and inclusive opportunities and spaces for marginalized students in higher education should consider whose experiences are excluded from the discourse to account for Somali-Jareer Bantu learners and incorporate resources that meet their needs. When we divert away from the assumption of homogeneity, we can begin to consider the many diverse ethnic minorities in these spaces and create a pathway to address the unique needs of Somali-Jareer Bantu students.

Author

• Lul M Baba, University of Illinois at Chicago