Fostering Healing Through Critical Consciousness for System-Involved Youth

• In Event: (Re)Imagining Possibilities: Working to Create Change

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to focus on foster youth healing through critical conscious development. Healing is described within this study as the process of becoming sound or healthy, as determined by the individual. Foster youth voice was captured to evaluate and unpack if healing spaces are needed within school settings and if so, what those spaces should look like. Through youth-led participatory action research as the mode of inquiry with 10 adolescent/young adult foster youth, I explored the following research questions: What role does healing play in building agency for foster youth? In what ways does the building of critical consciousness generate self-efficacy among foster youth? What types of supports facilitate radical healing for foster youth?

Author

• Denicia Carlay, University of California - Berkeley