Charting a Path to Critical Consciousness: A Personal Journey to Unveil Untruthful Meritocratic Views of Education

• In Event: 63.074 - Hear Our Voices, Silent No Longer: Problematizing the Lived Experiences of Women of Color Entering Academia

Abstract

This moment we are living as a society is exposing the realities of white supremacy and untruthful informational spheres, thus requiring a new direction for intentional outlooks into critical consciousness. The personal realization that social justice cannot be implemented without growing a critical stance for humanization has inspired the author to look back at her self-development of a critical consciousness as a woman of color in academia.

Objectives:
The purpose of this paper is to explore the personal development of a woman of color in academia through the three levels of critical consciousness (Freire, 1970/1993), i.e. 1) semi-intransitive, 2) naïve transitivity, and 3) critical transitivity. This paper encompasses critical self-reflection utilizing auto-ethnography as a research methodology, critical consciousness (Freire, 1970/1993) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) tenets as conceptual and theoretical frameworks respectively.

Framework:

Utilizing the concept of critical consciousness and CRT tenets (Allen, 2006, Delgado & Stefancic, 2013) as frameworks, the author charts her development into critical consciousness and the path to self-identify the moments leading to her transformation. Self-reflexivity exercises incorporate CRT tenets, which recognize racism as structural, white supremacy as central and the underlying principle that shapes the status quo, as well as the spread of white centered ideological and material formations at a global level (Allen, 2006). A critical consciousness framework serves to grow in understanding of sociopolitical and economics associations to act against oppression and bring about transformative change, for self and society (Freire 1970/1993).

Methodology:
The author utilizes autoethnography as a method for exploring the inner self, Holt (2003). Autoethnography served as a vehicle for the author’s reflective self-examination (Creswell, 2015) in her current social and intellectual localities that allowed to examine academic writings and personal journals generated during three years of doctoral work.

Data Collection and Analysis:
The data was gathered from writings and journals generated by the author through her higher education academic journey. Poems and quick writings were also incorporated. The analysis of data was conducted through open coding and thematic analysis.

Findings:
Findings show the gradual transformation of the author to a deep critical understanding of systemic oppression that goes unnoticed due to a long standing educational model based on the meritocracy myth. By unveiling and scrutinizing personal preconceived notions on the meaning of education, the author was able to chart a path to her own trajectory for educational liberation.

Scholarly Significance:
The scholarly significance of this project is that it allows for the often-silenced voices of women in academia to be reclaimed through a self-discovery journey that unveils untruthful meritocratic views of education. Through this analysis of self, the author claims that a path to critical consciousness calls for an honest deeper exploration of the educational moments that shape academic identity. Moreover, the emotional investment in this self-discovery as a critical scholar deems to be necessary not only for academic preparation, but for a sound understanding of the academic role in a post-truth era.

Author

• Magda Dathe, The University of New Mexico