2-168 - Fostering & Justifying Critical Consciousness in Schools & Youth Settings

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Poverty, income inequality, racism and other societal inequities are core developmental concerns, yet how youth think about, are affected by, and address these issues receives too little attention in developmental scholarship. This symposium highlights innovations in schooling practices that foster critical consciousness (CC) and new empirical evidence of positive developmental outcomes resulting from CC, among historically marginalized youth. [CC is conceptualized as oppressed or marginalized people’s critical analysis of their social conditions (i.e., critical reflection), the motivation and perceived capacity to effect change (i.e., critical motivation), and individual/collective action to change perceived inequities (i.e., critical action; Freire, 1973).]

The first two papers examine the strategies, nuances, and challenges faced when implementing CC-focused pedagogy in schools; the remaining two papers provide further empirical justification for including CC in school and youth settings. Paper 1 details two schooling models that emphasize distinct aspects of CC, stemming from a three-year longitudinal and mixed-methods project. Paper 2 explores CC-informed intergroup dialogues at a high school, and pedagogical strategies and challenges in engaging diverse youth around racial justice issues. Paper 3 examines how youths’ support for or challenging of social inequalities is associated with mental health and school behavioral outcomes. Paper 4 longitudinally examines how CC is associated with educational and career engagement during adolescence, and occupational attainment in adulthood. The insights from this symposium would inform interventions and CC-informed schooling (e.g., ethnic studies curriculum). Further evidence regarding the positive developmental consequences of CC further also justifies its inclusion in schooling and other settings.

Sub Unit

• Diversity, Equity & Social Justice

Chair

• Matthew Diemer, University of Michigan

Individual Presentations

• The Development of Critical Consciousness of Race and Class Inequality in Adolescents Attending Urban High Schools - Presenting Author: Scott Seider, Boston University; Daren Graves, Simmons College; Lauren Kelly, Boston University; Shelby Clark, Boston University; Jalene Tamerat, Boston University; Madora Soutter, Boston University; Melanie Cabral, Boston University; Saira Malhotra, Boston University; Jamie Johannsen, Boston University

• Sociopolitical Learning in Intergroup Dialogues: Developing Critical Consciousness and Intergroup Empathy using Storytelling - Presenting Author: Adriana Aldana, Assistant professor

• For better or worse? System-justifying beliefs predict trajectories of self-esteem and behavior across early adolescence - Presenting Author: Erin Godfrey, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University; Carlos Santos, Arizona State University; Esther Burson, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University

• Activist Identities as Pathways to Engagement and Social Mobility among Marginalized Youth - Presenting Author: Luke J Rapa, Michigan State University; Matthew Diemer, University of Michigan; Josefina Banales, Graduate Student