Experiences for Educational Equalities in Higher Education

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Special and Inclusive Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2025 | Viewed by 942

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Political Science and Public Policy, Iscte—University Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: inclusion; public policies; poverty; education

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Social Research Methods, Iscte—University Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: education; inclusion; public policies; school family relationship; strategic planning in education; school management and administration; public policies in education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last decade, the struggle to achieve inclusive education in the Western world has intensified. Problems persist, but some progress has been made in primary and secondary education, particularly in terms of reducing school dropout and retention rates. In Higher Education, however, access and success indicators show a scenario closer to “old times” (Capucha, 2023). The disparities in access and success in Higher Education institutions are still very high, negatively affecting students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, immigrants or those from immigrant families (OECD, 2024) and students with disabilities (Brewer et al., 2023; Capucha, 2023) Another issue is the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields (OECD, 2024). These are just some of the topics that have been debated in relation to inclusive education in Higher Education, which has led academics to perform more systematic studies on these issues as well as initiatives to promote inclusion in the institutions where they teach. With this Special Issue, we aim to showcase some of these more recent studies and initiatives. Please feel free to send in articles (until the 15th of November 2025) about the following themes:

  • Transition from secondary to Higher Education.
  • Equitable access and success in Higher Education.
  • Initiatives to promote inclusion in Higher Education and their results.

Please do let us know if you are interested in contributing with an article for this Special Issue until the 18th of April 2025.

References

  • Brewer, G., Urwin, E., Witham, B. (2023). Disabled student experiences of Higher Education, Disability & Society, 40:1, 108-127.
  • Capucha, L. (2023). Ensaio sobre o acesso ao ensino superior: a longa batalha pela inclusão educativa em Portugal, Revista Educação e Políticas em Debate – v. 12, n. 3, p. 1019-1036.
  • OECD (2024), Education at a Glance 2024: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Prof. Dr. Luís Capucha
Dr. Eva Gonçalves
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • inclusion
  • higher education
  • studies
  • experiences

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 354 KB  
Article
From Intersectional Marginalization to Empowerment: Palestinian Women Transforming Through Higher Education
by Al-Khansaa Diab
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(9), 1144; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091144 - 2 Sep 2025
Viewed by 598
Abstract
Palestinian female students from East Jerusalem face multiple forms of discrimination as Palestinians in Israeli universities, as women in traditional society, and as residents of a politically contested area. These intersecting challenges create unique difficulties that traditional educational systems cannot adequately address. Despite [...] Read more.
Palestinian female students from East Jerusalem face multiple forms of discrimination as Palestinians in Israeli universities, as women in traditional society, and as residents of a politically contested area. These intersecting challenges create unique difficulties that traditional educational systems cannot adequately address. Despite worldwide higher education expansion, severe inequalities persist, particularly affecting students with multiple disadvantaged identities who face institutional barriers designed to maintain disparities. This study examines how Palestinian women transform structural challenges into opportunities for empowerment within Israeli higher education. This qualitative research used in-depth semi-structured interviews with 40 Palestinian female students from East Jerusalem enrolled in Israeli institutions. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling until data saturation was achieved. An interview analysis examined educational choices, institutional navigation strategies, experiences of discrimination, cultural identity preservation, and career planning approaches using a thematic methodology. Seven interconnected themes emerged, highlighting empowerment strategies: strategic educational choice-making, institutional navigation skills, academic resilience development, cultural identity preservation, intercultural bridge-building, community-oriented career planning, and the development of critical political consciousness. The findings demonstrate how these women utilize community cultural strengths to succeed in environments not designed for their advancement, positioning themselves as institutional change agents rather than passive recipients of support. This research contributes to diversity science by revealing how intersectional marginalization creates distinctive forms of empowerment, providing insights for developing antiracist teaching approaches that recognize the cultural assets that multiply-marginalized students bring to higher education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experiences for Educational Equalities in Higher Education)
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