Investigating Advisory as a Space for Nurturing Early Adolescents' Civic Development and Critical Consciousness

• In Event: Race, Equity, and Critical Consciousness in Democratic Education

Abstract

Critical consciousness refers to the ability to analyze and challenge oppressive forces. Philosopher-educator Paulo Freire asserted that nurturing young people’s critical consciousness should be the primary goal of education so that youth develop the will and skill to challenge oppression and build a better world. One promising space for this critical consciousness work in the middle grades is advisory. This mixed methods study explores how middle school teachers and students describe and understand the constraints and affordances of advisory as a space for antiracist education. One preliminary finding emerging from our analyses is that students are more confident than their teachers that advisory is an appropriate and beneficial place for learning and discussions about racism and resistance to racism.

Authors

• Scott Clifford Seider, Boston College

• Daren Graves, Simmons University

• Babatunde Alford, Boston College

• Brianna C. Diaz, Boston College

• Trang U. Le, Boston College

• Sarah E. Fogelman, Boston College

• Kelly Ward, Boston College

• Hehua Xu, Harvard University

• Sarah Norris, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Mia Giatrelis, Tufts University

• Kaila Daza, Boston College