“Does It Identify Me?”: The Multiple Identities of College Students from Rural Areas

Elise J. Cain,Jenay F. E. Willis

doi:10.35608/ruraled.v43i1.1199

Abstract

The understanding of identities is an important component to understanding students and their experiences in educational contexts, especially in postsecondary education. There is limited information about the identities of college students from rural areas because this student population is often neglected as a distinct group in higher education literature. This article details a study utilizing narrative inquiry to explore the identities of three college students who graduated from high schools in rural areas. The findings suggest that these students’ races and ethnicities, genders and biological sexes, and sexual orientations were their salient social identities. Rurality was not a prominent identity, but their perceptions and experiences were shaped by their rural backgrounds. Rural students’ places of origin and their multiple identities, therefore, should not be ignored within P-20 education.

Highlights

This article details a study utilizing narrative inquiry to explore the identities of three college students who graduated from high schools in rural areas
The findings suggest that these students’ races and ethnicities, genders and biological sexes, and sexual orientations were their salient social identities
What is known about various demographics and social identities of rural students is limited, because there is minimal literature addressing the identities of college students from rural areas due to this student population often being overlooked and understudied as a distinct group in higher education (Byun et al, 2017; Cain et al, 2020)

Summary

Introduction

The understanding of identities is an important component to understanding students and their experiences in educational contexts, especially in postsecondary education. The rural backgrounds of these students seemed to be interwoven within their experiences relating to their identities (i.e., their races and ethnicities, genders and biological sexes, and sexual orientations), indicating that students’ places of origin should not be ignored within their multiple identities. Based upon these findings, this article concludes with recommendations for future research and implications for educational practice

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Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion