Research Approach

UMYSEE is a multi-sited, multi-method, multi-year study rooted in one marginalized urban and one marginalized rural area in each of three diverse low- and middle-income education systems: Colombia, India, and Malawi.

To identify marginalized youth in our study, we consider global categories of marginalization like being poor, orphaned, sick, disabled, or female; belonging to a traditionally disadvantaged caste; or experiencing conflict or displacement. We also recognize, and rely methodologically, on the geographical clustering of many forms of marginalization, such as in remote rural areas or urban peripheries. But, importantly, we conceive of and systematically document youth’s own experiences of marginalization (Schenk et al., 2008) as intersectionally constituted by multiple forces—including but not limited to global categories—that create conditions that deeply limit their educational and life chances.

Click here to learn more about our mixed-methods approach.