M Harris-Weedman: "MENSCH-challenges of being identified as student members of marginalized groups"

Presentation 9: 7/12/23

Dr Metrice Harris-Weedman, PhD alumna, ESJ programme. Four Corners Consulting, France.

Some of the challenges of being identified as student members of marginalised groups revolve around being seen, heard, and whether your ideas can be impactful in systems not necessarily designed with your interests and needs in mind. MENSCH, a holistic framework, was designed to aid international educators and support staff to appropriately engage, position themselves to actively listen to underrepresented study abroad students and their lived realities, while viewing the higher education system(s) they are engaged in from more realistic and dynamic ways. Inclusive programming to students who do not fit traditional study abroad profiles requires paradigm shifts. MENSCH is a tool to increase communication between diverse students, their supportive village, and educators using elements from Black Feminism, Critical Race Theory, and the Capability Approach. MENSCH can help shift educators from deficit perspectives when viewing their students to optimising existing resources for increased collaborative advocacy while building safer spaces. As a researcher and clinically trained therapist, I philosophically engage with clients from a systemic holistic perspective. This perspective led me to create an inclusionary study abroad framework called MENSCH which can be used as a tool for international educators to: understand contexts surrounding student identities; explore intersected student identities; identify power structures and gatekeepers; clarify study abroad contexts; demonstrate how to realistically leverage available resources; and focus on knowledge, skills, and abilities students bring to study abroad.