Beyond the trinity of gender, race, and class: Further exploring intersectionality in adult education

Abstract

Research exploring the gendered dimensions of adult learning has blossomed in the past two decades. Despite this trend, intersectional approaches in adult learning, research, and teaching remain limited primarily to the intersection of gender, race, and class. Meanwhile, intersectionality theories are more diverse, and include discussions of social structures, geographies, and histories that serve to build richer, nuanced descriptions of how privilege and oppression are experienced. Because the purpose of intersectionality is to understand how social identities and positions are constructed and to challenge the structures of power that oppress particular social groups, this approach is important for feminist and social justice educators. We, the Canadian authors of this manuscript, posit that adult education should move beyond intersectionality that focuses only on the trinity of gender + race + class to consider the other inequalities and the true complexities of representation and collective identities. By exploring literature in feminism, adult education, and intersectionality, we illustrate a gap at the core of adult education for social justice. We draw upon two examples of national research with and by the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women to illustrate how intersectionality is understood and works in practice.