How Adolescents' Critical Consciousness in High School Predicts Civic Skills in Early Adulthood

• In Event: Youth Development and Civic Education

Abstract

Critical consciousness, the process by which individuals develop the ability to analyze and take action against systems of oppression, is associated with several positive youth outcomes. However, there remains much to be learned about how the three key dimensions of critical consciousness (critical reflection, political agency, critical action) are associated with youths’ civic development. The present study explored whether and how Black and Latinx adolescents’ (n = 647) critical consciousness development over four years of high school predicted their civic engagement and skills one year beyond high school. Results demonstrated that adolescents’ critical reflection and critical action scores at the conclusion of high school predicted their feelings of civic competence, sociopolitical agency, and engagement in discussion of meaningful sociopolitical issues.

Authors

• Scott Clifford Seider, Boston College

• Daren Graves, Simmons University

• Shelby Clark, Harvard University