Social identities and higher education

Social identities, and the personal and systemic biases that exist around them often come into play in educational settings. For example, the socioeconomic status of a student’s family can make a big impact on a student’s academic preparation, the program of study they pursue, how much time they can devote to their academic work and even whether they’re able to access higher education at all.

We also know from research that the gender of a faculty member can impact students’ assumptions about their competency as an instructor, and that faculty members may also harbour biases about students’ gender and race. However, students and faculty are often unaware of these biases – a pervasive phenomenon called unconscious bias.

As already mentioned, our education system and institutions are still rooted in a colonial model. Indigenous students and scholars, and members of other racialized communities may encounter a lack of recognition and acceptance of the ways of gathering, organizing and sharing knowledge that are part of their own knowledge-systems. (This is also known as epistemic exclusion.

A student’s language background can also pose a significant barrier to academic success. The practical challenges faced by many of those for whom English is an additional language can be compounded when they experience linguistic bias, or assumptions about the quality and value of their ideas based solely on their style of communicating. They may also be reluctant to ask questions in class, for fear of misspeaking or being ridiculed by their peers for their accent, phrasing or word choice.

Further, the ways in which disabled and neurodivergent students, staff and faculty do or do not have their access needs met within postsecondary institutions can have a major impact on whether they struggle or excel.