Black and Latinx Adolescents' Developing Critical Consciousness and Its Relationship to Academic Achievement

• In Event: 45.080 - Measures of Black Learners: Success, Hope, Critical Consciousness, Racial Fairness, and Civic Achievement

Abstract

Critical consciousness, the process by which individuals come to understand, analyze, and take action against systems of oppression, is associated with several positive youth outcomes. However, little research has considered how critical consciousness is associated with academic achievement. The present study explored the extent to which Black and Latinx adolescents’ (n=334) development of critical consciousness abilities (critical reflection, agency, and critical action) over the course of high school predicted academic achievement, as measured by grade point average (GPA) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Results demonstrated that critical reflection and critical action intercepts predicted fall SAT scores whereas critical reflection and critical action slopes predicted GPAs. Sociopolitical control was not predictive of either academic outcome.

Authors

• Scott Clifford Seider, Boston University

• Shelby Clark, Harvard University

• Daren Graves, Simmons College