Psychosocial Blossoming: A Conceptual Framework for Humanizing Relationships between Racially/Ethnically Minoritized Students and Postsecondary Institutions

Current higher education literature defines thriving as academic success and a high level of social and psychological well-being, yet this literature often overlooks the impact of systems of power on individuals. For example, racially/ethnically minoritized students at predominantly or historically white institutions frequently face pervasive microaggressions and unwelcoming campus climates. How can we uplift students who grow and flourish despite the systems of power not built to support them? This manuscript introduces a novel conceptual framework, psychosocial blossoming, designed to foster humanizing relationships between racially/ethnically minoritized students and postsecondary institutions. Based on a review of empirical research about when and where racially/ethnically minoritized students have positive mental, emotional, and social experiences at four-year institutions, psychosocial blossoming emphasizes a reciprocal and relational process toward wholeness, humanization, and liberation for individuals, their communities, and institutions. As an evocative metaphor and lens, psychosocial blossoming acts as both a reminder of our work’s immense possibility for beauty and a call to action to foreground everyone’s humanity so we all might collectively blossom. Among the considerations for scholars, practitioners, and institutional leaders looking to apply the concept of psychosocial blossoming to their work is the need to critically reflect on one’s roles and to actively tend to the campus environment in ways that genuinely support the holistic growth of all students.