Authors
Itkonen T. and Pesonen H.
Abstract
This special issue focuses on the inclusion of historically underrepresented students in higher education, with a critical examination of diversity, equity, inclusion and access issues from policy and political lenses. ‘Historically underrepresented students’ refer to individuals from refugee and immigrant backgrounds (e.g. Kalalahti et al., Citation2017; Krasnik et al., Citation2020), indigenous students (e.g. Roland, Citation1993), students with disabilities (e.g. AHEAD, Citation2019; Cole & Cawthon, Citation2015; Davis, Citation2021), first-generation higher education students (RTI International, Citation2019), and students who identify as LGBTQ+ (e.g. Cantor, Citation2020; Postsecondary National Policy Institute, Citation2022). Often in the literature, student groups are considered as distinct populations (e.g. based on race, gender, etc.), but in this special issue, we recognize that many minoritized students’ identities may further intersect across race, indigeneity, socioeconomic status, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, immigration status, refugee status, spirituality, language, and education (Crenshaw, Citation1991; Martinez, Citation2018). While universities may use the term ‘minority’ to refer to the prevalence or backgrounds of various students, a more recent term introduces the construct ‘minoritization’, as some students might experience access barriers and other obstacles, thus becoming minoritized by the prevailing systemic structures (e.g. Bowman et al., Citation2023). We will use the terms underrepresented, minority, minoritized, and marginalized interchangeably.