Listen to Black Women: Utilizing Open-Ended Responses to Critically Examine Learning Environments

• In Event: Examining the Impacts of Racism and Transborder Realities on Undergraduate Learning and Development

Abstract

The learning experiences of Black undergraduate women in higher education has largely been left un-interrogated. While there has been a recent push to listen to Black women, the voices of our student population have for far too long been ignored or silenced. This paper seeks to center Black undergraduate women as experts in their own learning and lived experiences. Utilizing content analysis to explore open-ended survey responses, this study seeks to understand the learning opportunities Black women name as being significant to their learning and the ways in which a racialized and gendered campus environment informs these experiences. Findings suggest that students learning is influenced by experiences with racism and sexism that leads to both moments of dissonance and growth.

Authors

• Dajanae Palmer, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Samantha Silberstein, University of North Carolina - Wilmington

• Jillian L. Kinzie, Indiana University