On the Intersectional Amplification of Barriers to College Internships: A Comparative Case Study Analysis

In this article, authors Matthew Wolfgram, Brian Vivona, and Tamanna Akram present a comparative case study analysis of five students from a comprehensive, urban Hispanic-Serving Institution whose experiences exemplify a coordination of intersectional factors that amplify barriers to internship participation. Research shows that college internships yield academic, economic, and professional benefits. However, the opportunity to locate and participate in internships is not equal across student demographic and socioeconomic contexts. There are multiple complex barriers to internship participation for students who are socially and institutionally minoritized by race, gender, and other contextual factors, including finances, work responsibilities, travel, and gendered familial obligations. These factors intersect with systems of power and privilege to amplify challenges and foreclose futures. The authors argue that the delineation of barriers into types alone, such as financial, social, and cultural, without additional analysis of the dynamics of how such barriers intersect and amplify, runs the risk of misconstruing students’ actual experiences when they struggle to access internships and other educational opportunities.

Coming out ‘softly’

Given the social stigmatisation and legal disadvantages faced by gay men in Singapore, there is a general hesitance to be open about one’s gay identity for fear of discrimination and possible prosecution. The logic of illiberal pragmatism is taken up by the Singaporean government as a mode of governance that simultaneously constrains and frees its citizens, which forces its gay citizens to straddle the expression of their sexual identity and a sense of duty to their families. This same tension is found in gay men’s reflections on the coming out process. In ethnographic interviews conducted with 15 Singaporean gay men, concerns arise about the perceived strength and directness of coming out alongside the need to satisfy familial obligations. In response to these concerns, gay Singaporeans have adopted a ‘soft’ approach to coming out that aligns with national illiberal pragmatism. Di Singapura, ada ramai yang rasa curiga untuk menyebarluaskan identiti gay mereka kerana takut dikejam dan didakwa. Ini diakibatkan penindasan dalam masyarakat dan kekurangan perlindungan dari segi hukum yang dihadapi oleh golongan gay. Pemerintah Singapura menggunakan logik pragmatisme yang tidak liberal (‘illiberal pragmatism’) sebagai alat pemerintahan yang saling mengekang dan membebas warganya. Penggunaan logik ini memaksa warga negara gaynya untuk memilih antara menyebarluaskan orientasi seksual mereka atau memenuhi kewajiban keluarga. Pilihan sukar ini sering dibentangkan oleh lelaki-lelaki gay dalam renungan mereka tentang proses melela (‘coming out’). Dalam wawancara etnografi dengan 15 lelaki gay Singapura, kebimbangan mengenai keberkesanan proses melela dan tekanan memenuhi tanggungjawab keluarga kerap timbul. Sebagai pembalasan terhadap kebingungan tersebut, warga negara gay Singapura melela menggunakan cetak biru yang ‘lembut’ dan selaras dengan logik pragmatisme Singapura.

The Pandemic and Gender Inequality in Academia

ABSTRACT Has the pandemic exacerbated gender inequality in academia? We provide real- time evidence by analyzing 1.8 million tweets from approximately 3,000 political scientists, leveraging their use of social media for career advancement. Using automated text analysis and difference-in-differences estimation, we find that although faculty members of both genders were affected by the pandemic, the shift to remote work caused women to tweet less often than their male colleagues about professional accomplishments. We argue that these effects are driven by the increased familial obligations placed on women, as demonstrated by the increase in family-related tweets and the more pronounced effects among junior academics. Our evidence demonstrating the gendered shift in professional visibility during the pandemic provides the opportunity for proactive efforts to address disparities that otherwise may take years to manifest.

HOW RELATIONSHIPS IMPACT SENSE OF BELONGING IN SCHOOLS AMONGST FEMALE ADOLESCENTS FROM REFUGEE BACKGROUNDS

Education is believed to play an essential role in creating a sense of belonging amongst adolescents from refugee backgrounds. This narrative inquiry study set out to better understand the influence that relationships formed in one Canadian school community played in the development of a sense of belonging amongst female adolescent students from refugee backgrounds. Study participants were from Middle Eastern and East African origin and had been living in Canada for two-years or less. Data were collected over a five-month period through two sets of interviews, and a series of observations. Findings indicated the students from refugee backgrounds sense of belonging in school was strengthened by strong relationships with teachers from whom they perceived a genuine sense of support and care, which resulted in higher academic achievement. The study also conveyed that students felt that their Canadian-born peers largely ignored them in class, which resulted in increased feelings of social isolation and lack of belonging. The female student experience was further influenced by additional familial obligations and responsibilities.

Daughters of the Revolution: Negotiating Filial Piety in Post-2011 Egypt

Based on interviews conducted in 2018 and 2019 with young middle-class Muslim Egyptians, this article demonstrates how a political event such as the Egyptian revolution of 2011 can cause a shift in family relations and notions of filial piety, especially for young women. I argue that the revolution gave my female interlocutors the ability to question aspects of the social and religious structures in which they grew up, including parental authority. I analyze in-depth the cases of three women who were disappointed in their parents’ use of the religious moral mandate of obedience to and respect for parents (birr al-wālidayn) to discourage their daughters from participating in what the women believed was a just, moral cause. This moral dissonance did not push the young women to resist their familial obligations or subvert relational hierarchies, but they have negotiated the parameters of their subordination to their parents, including how to be dutiful daughters.

Parentification Experiences of Filipino Young Professional Daughters During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Parentification refers to parent-child role reversal wherein the child adopts the parent's role instrumentally or emotionally. This role reversal practice between the parent and the child is not uncommon in certain cultures. The cultural dynamics and familial obligations at play have positive and negative outlooks with varying effects. This study focused on the effects of instrumental parentification experiences on psychological resilience and interpersonal relationships among selected Filipino young professional daughters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using purposive sampling, 19 Filipino young professional daughters from Metro Manila, Philippines, were selected for the study. Online interviews were conducted and thematic analysis was employed to process the data. Findings showed that most of the daughters, with “utang na loob” (indebtedness) value system, wholeheartedly accepted instrumental parentification. Thus, more tasks and responsibilities were shouldered by them due to the COVID-19 lockdown wherein older parents need to stay at home due to the fear of contracting the disease. Almost all shared that the COVID-19 pandemic tested their parent-child relationship. A few expressed that it made them let go of personal growth opportunities and experienced problems with their parents' relationship, given the uncertainties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, they shared that they could not leave their ageing parents in this time of COVID-19 pandemic and that with proper balancing of tasks and responsibilities at home and at work, parentification made them to become more self-reliant, mature faster, and responsible daughters.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? International Students’ Decision-Making About Staying in Canada

Recent decades have seen an increase in the popularity of international education. Approximately 500,000 international students were in Canada in 2018 and this number is projected to grow. While we know that many international students decide to stay in Canada, we do not fully understand the decision-making process employed by international students regarding staying in Canada or going back home after completing their education. The purpose of this study was to explore how international students make decisions about their post-graduation destination and what factors they see as pivotal in shaping their decision-making process. We utilized a symbolic interactionist approach to analyze qualitative semi-structured interviews with 60 international students enrolled in post-secondary programs in Canada. Our findings suggest that the meaning students attach to staying in Canada varies from obtaining permanent residency to working for a few months upon graduation. We also demonstrate that for most students, the decision to stay in Canada is formed gradually and is shaped by familial obligations, cultural climate they experience in Canada, employment opportunities available to them upon graduation, and the possibility of obtaining permanent residency.

What We Bring With Us: Investing in Latinx Students Means Investing in Families

The educational landscape of the United States has shifted as more low-income, first-generation Latinx students enroll in 4-year universities. Despite this, many underlying structures and practices of these institutions still reflect the cultural norms of culturally dominant groups (e.g., White, upper-to-middle-class, continuing-generation), privileging individualism. This overlooks the cultural values of low-income, first-generation Latinx students, who often prioritize interdependent connections and obligations. When universities do not recognize familial obligations, students must decide between helping family or doing well in school—which complicates their capacity to succeed academically. To graduate diverse future leaders and build a diverse workforce, educators and policymakers must consider that investing in students means investing in their families, too. Concrete examples, from small interventions to large-scale policy changes, illustrate meaningful investment strategies.

The Importance of Student Services for Adult Learners

Institutions of higher education provide numerous support services to undergraduate students. However, it is debatable that those services assist the adult learner population because most services are structured to assist traditional undergraduate students. Gathering an understanding of factors such as the student's individual needs, age/experience, course modality preference, work, and familial obligations will allow higher education administrators and faculty to provide resources specific to the adult learner. The development of key student services such as tutoring, advising, career development, library services, and counseling with post-traditional adult learners in mind will contribute to the success of all students regardless of demographic and/or individual challenges or situations. This chapter explores how higher education institutions can best support academic success for adult learners in an environment typically designed for traditionally aged students.