Critical Consciousness Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Seider and Graves focus on the importance of fostering political agency in ramping up student's civic knowledge and engagement. Political agency- an individual's belief in their ability to effect social or political change- matters because it is one of the strongest predictors of a young person's civic engagement, political interest, and attention to current events. Scholars have also theorized that political agency can transform a young person's understanding of social or political issues into a commitment to social action and engagement. The authors explore the skills for social change, effecting change in school, and effecting in the real world.

- by
- •
- Educational Leadership, Teacher Education, Critical Consciousness, Civics Education

Purpose – Nondominant youth faces complex structural inequalities and injustices that have a direct
impact on their academic learning outcomes and psychosocial well-being. Research suggests that supporting the development of students’ critical consciousness not only improves their educational and career trajectories but also provides students with the tools, language and skills they need to examine, act upon and heal from the sociopolitical realities and injustices they face in their daily lives.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports findings from a two-year Youth Participatory
Action Research (YPAR) study conducted with students in a police-oriented Career and Technical Education program. YPAR was used as pedagogy for nondominant students to explore how to leverage their funds of knowledge (FK) in their learning and future careers as police officers to improve community–police relations.
Findings – This paper reports on one aspect of the findings from the YPAR project that includes: a) the
relationship between students’ difficult FK, critical consciousness development and career aspirations;
b) how, if left unaddressed, students’ difficult FK could mediate deficit and internally oppressive views of
Communities of Color and other nondominant groups; and c) the power of transforming students’ difficult FK into pedagogical assets.
Originality/value – Engaging students’ difficult FK can support critical consciousness development and
facilitate students’ ability to navigate and resist oppressive spaces, sustain their well-being and empower
themselves and their families and communities.

- by Rebecca Neri
- •
- Critical Consciousness, Funds of Knowledge, Dark Funds of Knowledge
- by Bailey B Smolarek and +1
- •
- Critical Pedagogy, Educational Equity and Justice, Teacher professional development, Critical Consciousness

Interpersonal and structural forms of racism contribute to a system of economic stratification in the United States in which children of color are disproportionately likely to be born into poverty and to remain poor as adults. However, only a small body of research has focused on Black and Latinx adolescents’ developing beliefs about the causes of poverty or the relationship between such beliefs and their awareness of racism. The present study sought to contribute to this scholarship with a longitudinal investigation involving Black and Latinx adolescents ( n = 457) attending urban secondary schools in 5 northeastern cities. Specifically, we investigated (a) these adolescents’ change over time in their beliefs about the causes of poverty; (b) the relationship between their developing beliefs about the causes of poverty and changes in their awareness of racism; and (c) the role of a progressive schooling experience in influencing the adolescents’ beliefs about the causes of poverty. Multivariate latent growth modeling revealed that participants demonstrated significant positive change over time in their conception of poverty as caused by structural factors as well as a significant relationship at each time point between adolescents’ beliefs about the causes of poverty and awareness of interpersonal racism. However, we found that attending a secondary school featuring a progressive schooling model did not significantly predict adolescents’ change in beliefs about the structural causes of poverty.

Excerpt: Traditional methods of classroom assessment may silence the voices of the ones most affected by evaluative results—the students. Tests, quizzes, and participation points—if used only to gauge and sort are not meaningful ways of determining individual student needs, and do not provide students a platform for dialogue (McMillan, 2003). Student-inclusive classroom environments, ones that center positive student/educator interaction and value students’ input in classroom
logistics and transformation (Bron & Veugelers, 2014), predicates cultivating student agency in and through assessment.

- by Robin Jackson and +1
- •
- Formative Assessment, Equity, Critical Consciousness, Critical Reflection

Political elections have been shown to influence youth civic development. The election of Donald Trump is historic and has elevated precarity for people of color and immigrants, yet we know little about how young people with these identities experienced this potentially catalytic event. Using ethnographic methods, we examined youth and adult discussions that occurred during youth participatory action research in four sites of one after-school program between October 2016 and May 2017, to investigate how the development of critical consciousness occurs among early adolescent youth of color in the context of catalyzing political events. We identified emergent patterns in how young people (a) engaged in critical reflection, (b) weighed political efficacy, and (c) considered engagement in critical action in the wake of Trump's election. The data revealed that young people's critical consciousness development ranged from basic to advanced levels. This research highlights the ways that politically catalytic events shape critical consciousness development among early adolescents of color.

- by Yolanda (Yoli) Anyon and +1
- •
- Youth Studies, Positive Youth Development, Youth Civic Engagement, Youth Political Participation

Abstract
The rising percentage of nonwhite students in the U.S. public school system accompanied by persistent educational debt and racial inequities presents an opportunity gap for many marginalized students. Scholars suggest that teaching ethnic studies curriculum with critical race pedagogy can help address the opportunity gap. Ethnic Studies centers on providing students educational access, relevance, and tools for social change. However, few studies examine how this curriculum affects middle school students. Based on qualitative analysis of a combination of different data sources such as student evaluations, writing samples, and teacher reflections, I found that an ethnic studies curriculum enabled middle school students to make meaningful connections to their lives and build academic and social confidence that promoted their success. It also encouraged them to develop their capacities for social action. I find that contradictory ideologies may arise from cultivating critical consciousness with regards to responses and recognition of injustices. Results suggest that teachers may help cultivate students’ critical consciousness when they have the content knowledge and pedagogical tools to support their development.

This paper presents a feminist theoretical model of adolescent development for girls of color, a model that can be used to critique and resist the dominant deficit-oriented perspectives about girls of color that appear in research and educational contexts. We integrate ecological, phenomenological, and critical race feminist perspectives on development and socialization and emphasize that girls' emerging identities are complexly heterogeneous. Our model adapts the competencies of the existing positive youth development model (Lerner et al. in J Early Adolesc 25(1):10–16, 2005) by infusing them with a critical feminist lens that emphasizes critical consciousness, resistance, and resilience and allows us to specify the model to fit the experiences of and contexts in which girls of color develop. This paper includes a presentation of our conceptual model and uses qualitative data to examine how components of our model map on to the everyday experiences of Black and Latina adolescent girls and their development.

- by Katie Clonan-Roy and +2
- •
- Resilience, Adolescent Development, Resistance (Social), Positive Youth Development
- by Ronald Pitner and +1
- •
- Social Work, Critical Pedagogy, Empowerment, Social Work Education
- by Ronald Pitner and +1
- •
- Reflective Practice, Social Cognition, Reflexivity, Cultural Competency
- by Clifford Lee
- •
- Critical Theory, Computer Science, Critical Pedagogy, Culturally relevant pedagogy

One of the limitations of anti-oppressive perspectives (AOPs) in social work is its lack of focus at a micro and individual level. AOPs should entail the social worker's addressing the needs and assets of service users, challenging the oppressive social structure and, most importantly, critically challenging the power dynamics in the service-provider/ service-user relationship. Critical consciousness challenges social workers to be cognizant of power differentials and how these differentials may inadvertently make social-work practice an oppressive experience. The authors contend that critical consciousness fills in some of the gaps of AOPs, and argue for a fuller integration of critical consciousness into teaching and practice of AOPs. The methods to work toward critical consciousness, such as inter-group dialogues, agent–target distinctions and empowerment, are detailed.

- by Izumi Sakamoto and +1
- •
- Empowerment, Anti-Oppressive Social Work, Critical Consciousness, Power and privilege
- by Flora Farago
- •
- Critical Consciousness

How should one respond to racial oppression? Conventional prescriptions of mainstream social psychological science emphasize the idea of coping with oppression—whether via emotional management strategies that emphasize denial or disengagement; problem-focused strategies that emphasize compensation, self-efficacy, or skills training; or collective strategies that emphasize emotional support—in ways that promote adaptation to, rather than transformation of, oppressive social structures. Following a brief review of the literature on coping with racism and oppression, we present an alternative model rooted in perspectives of liberation psychology (Martín-Baró, 1994). This decolonial approach emphasizes critical consciousness (rather than cultivated ignorance) of racial oppression, a focus on de-ideologization rather than legitimation) of status quo realities, and illumination of models of identification conducive to collective action. Whereas the standard approach to coping with oppression may ultimately both reinforce and reproduce systems of domination, we propose a decolonial approach to racism perception as a more effective strategy for enduring prosperity and well-being.

- by Glenn Adams and +1
- •
- Critical Consciousness, Liberation Psychology

Using Anzaldúa’s theory of conocimiento—a fluid journey of reflection and knowledge production—we examine how two Latina undergraduates experience critical consciousness within an ethnic studies course. We challenge that critical consciousness is an end-all, be-all state by highlighting contradictions in thinking, internal shifts, bodymindspirit, and actions that move us to praxis. These aspects of conocimiento are capable of disrupting dominant ideologies, systems of oppression, and coloniality, allowing for transformative ruptures to occur. We offer conocimiento as a way to underscore the beauty of tensions and transformations found in the processes of critical consciousness and the significant role of ethnic studies for Latinx undergraduates.

- by Tanya J Gaxiola Serrano and +1
- •
- Ethnic Studies, Gloria Anzaldua, Critical Consciousness, Conocimiento

A mixed methods approach was used to explore dimensions of sociopolitical development of youth in El Salvador. Photovoice was used to engage 2 groups of adolescents from a rural village to document and discuss their community. Using previous theory and models of sociopolitical development as a guide, themes were identified to inform the development of a quantitative measure we call sociopolitical consciousness. New and preexisting items were combined to create a measure that reflected the themes from the qualitative data. The resulting measure was completed by 682 Salvadoran high school students across 3 different community contexts; 7 factors were subsequently identified representing both individual and collective dimensions of sociopolitical consciousness. The study demonstrates how a contextualized research process can facilitate a synergy between the emic and etic dimensions of sociopolitical development.

- by Kwesi Craig C. Brookins and +1
- •
- Critical Consciousness, Sociopolitical Development, El Salvador

Two-way dual language (TWDL) bilingual education programs share three core goals: academic achievement, bilingualism and biliteracy, and sociocultural competence. This article proposes a fourth core goal: critical consciousness. Although TWDL programs are designed to integrate students from diverse language, culture, and race backgrounds, equity is unfortunately still a challenge in TWDL classrooms and schools. We argue that centering critical consciousness—or fostering among teachers, parents, and children an awareness of the structural oppression that surrounds us and a readiness to take action to correct it—can support increased equity and social justice in TWDL education. We elaborate four elements of critical consciousness: interrogating power, critical listening, historicizing schools, and embracing discomfort. We illustrate these elements with examples from TWDL research and practice. In addition, we describe how critical consciousness impacts and radicalizes the other three core goals, in turn supporting the development of more successful, equitable, and socially just TWDL schools.

- by Ana Cruz
- •
- Critical Pedagogy, Paulo Freire, Critical Consciousness, Pedagogía Crítica

In this article, we utilize duoethnography and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to address the state of Whiteness in art education and our own experiences; both concepts share the importance of including diverse narratives and challenging the dominant ones imposed by the construct of Whiteness. Through duoethnography, our narratives address instances of microaggressions, internalized racism and assimilation, as well as the lack of representation of diverse artists. We reflect on these experiences and the impact of Whiteness in our own lives. Through CRT, we are able to unpack the impact of our lived experiences and further discuss the implications for the future of our field.

- by Amber Coleman
- •
- Diversity, Critical Race Theory, Whiteness Studies, Art Education

Teacher identity has emerged as a topic amongst contemporary researchers to inform, impact, and reform professional practice in light of the unique challenges presented within education in the United States. A homogeneous teaching population, which remains overwhelmingly White and middle class, must address a demographic and cultural divide amongst students, teachers, families, as well as in curriculum and instruction. Bartolome (2004, 2008) argues that teachers must have an understanding of how their ideological orientation shapes their views of students and influences their teaching. Through this praxis, I critically explored the historically constituted subjectivities, cultural meanings, social dynamics, and discourses that shaped my teaching identity as a haole (White) transplant (cultural outsider) teacher who moved to Hawai‘i. I used autoethnographic methodology as a form of narrative writing to invite readers into my cultural experiences. This opened up a space to explore the impact of the social, cultural, historical, and political forces in Hawai‘i on my personal, professional, and situational dimensions, which constituted my teacher identity. The results indicated that I am affected by the multiple identities that I have employed to navigate educational and personal spaces. The findings revealed six major themes: (i) understanding the complexities of identity are a prerequisite for critical consciousness; (ii) being a critically conscious teacher is a habit of mind, whereas being a culturally responsive teacher is the action resulting from that mindset; (iii) lived experience plays a role in enabling an understanding of one’s cultural position; (iv) critical consciousness is an iterative, ongoing process; (v) teaching for social justice needs to be approached both theoretically and practically; and (vi) autoethnography is a relevant tool to excavate one’s identity and can reframe educators’ thinking and subsequent actions in the classroom. The study provides a framework to address the need for theoretical and methodological transparency that is vital for exploring teacher identity.

- by Nicholas Perih and +1
- •
- Critical Theory, Autoethnography, Social Justice, Cultural Capital

Özet
Araştırmada Hegel'in bilinç ve özbilinç kavramları üzerinden Efendi-Köle diyalektiği analiz edilerek mutlaklaşma, özgürleşme ve kendinin bilincinde olma durumları Hegel'in tarih yorumu etkisinde incelenmektedir. Ardından sanat alanında özbilincin devreye girdiği dönem ve sanat yaratımlarında eleştirel söylem dili araştırmaya dahil edilerek, sanatçının kendisi etrafındaki gerçeklik karşısında geliştirdiği farkındalık ve ortaya konulan sanat eserleri ile bilinçli bir başkaldırı gerçekleştirmesi ve bunun sanat tarihindeki yansımaları olan farklı dönemlere ait sanat hareketleri eleştirel bilinç odağında yeniden yorumlanmaktadır. Bu farkındalığa bir başkaldırı niteliği taşıyan feminist söylem dili ve eleştirel bilincin sanat alanında göstergeleri Barbara Kruger örnekleminde analiz edilmektedir. Barbara Kruger’ın çalışmaları Hegel’in Efendi-Köle diyalektiği bağlamında incelenerek örnekleme alınan çalışmalar ve mekan tasarımları ile yazı-görsel figürlü kolaj tasarımları bağımlı ve bağımsız özbilinç göstergeleri ile çözümlenmektedir. Araştırmanın yöntemi evren ve örneklem üzerinde yapılan betimsel bir araştırmadır. Benzeşim modelinden yararlanılan araştırmada ilişkisel tarama modelinde karşılaştırma türü tarama yöntemi kullanılmıştır.
Abstract
In the study, by analyzing Hegel's the master-slave dialectic on the concepts of consciousness and self-consciousness is examined under the influence of Hegel's interpretation of history in terms of absolutism, liberation and self-consciousness. Then, in the field of art, self-consciousness has been included in the period and artistic creations in which the critical discourse has been included in the research, the awareness that the artist has developed in the face of the reality around him and the realization of a conscious rebellion with the artworks revealed and the art movements of different periods are reinterpreted in the critical consciousness center. Feminist rhetoric, which is a rebellion to this awareness, and language and critical awareness are analyzed in the field of art in the sample of Barbara Kruger. By analyzing Barbara Kruger's works in the context of Hegel's master-slave dialectic, sampled works, space designs and collage designs with the written-visual figures are examined with regard to dependent and independent self-consciousness indicators.The method of research is a descriptive study on the universe and the sample. In the study using the affinity model, the coparison type screening method was used in the relational screening model.

Domestic violence, a term frequently mentioned in both social work practice and human rights work. World Health Organization (2005) define domestic violence as “violence against women by male intimate partners”. Social worker, as helping professionals, often encounter women who are victims of domestic violence. “shelter” has become a common intervention that is believed to separate women from perpetrators and to provide a safe and confidential place for women (Hawkins and Humes, 2002). The report conduct by WHO (2015) indicate that women frequently return home to a partner who had abused them. This sees a conflict between professional intervention provided by social worker and service users’ own decision. Social worker, in this scenario, often face dilemma between providing professional help and respecting service users’ self-determination. This paper present a case study to work with migrant brides experiencing domestic violence. A rights-based approach will be applied to analyze the issues faced by a migrant woman. Then, the author will reflect about the lessons learned from this particular case. In a broader view, how this case study brings far reaching impacts to victims in other national contexts will be discussed.

Undergraduate rehearsal of the oral case presentation is examined as an opportune context for guiding medical students' perceptions of social accountability through a critical understanding of the psychosocial history, and for the... more

We know little about the challenges districts and teachers face when establishing Ethnic Studies courses. In one school district, variation in teachers’ Ethnic Studies knowledge impeded the production of curricula and its implementation. This study examines how Ethnic Studies teachers responded to the problems of differential knowledge and orientation on race, power, and teacher positionality in the context of high school classrooms. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews, I argue that a praxis-oriented approach to teacher professional development can play a central role in preparing Ethnic Studies teachers. Through political education and critical race dialogue, teachers developed their critical consciousness, which then led to a collective identity and shared views on major elements of Ethnic Studies’ curricular perspectives and approach. This study holds significant implications for teacher education and professional development as schools, districts, and states create policies to contribute to an equitable and inclusive public education through Ethnic Studies curricula.

- by Jocyl Sacramento
- •
- Ethnic Studies, Critical Pedagogy, Dialogue, Teachers' professional development

- by Nicholas Perih
- •
- Critical Theory, Autoethnography, Social Justice, Cultural Capital

In the current article, we build on research from vocational psychology, multicultural psychology, intersectionality, and the sociology of work to construct an empirically testable Psychology of Working Theory (PWT). Our central aim is to explain the work experiences of all individuals, but particularly people near or in poverty, people who face discrimination and marginalization in their lives, and people facing challenging work-based transitions for which contextual factors are often the primary drivers of the ability to secure decent work. The concept of decent work is defined and positioned as the central variable within the theory. A series of propositions is offered concerning (a) contextual predictors of securing decent work, (b) psychological and economic mediators and moderators of these relations, and (c) outcomes of securing decent work. Recommendations are suggested for researchers seeking to use the theory and practical implications are offered concerning counseling, ad...

- by Matthew Diemer
- •
- Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Poverty, Intersectionality

- by Jocyl Sacramento
- •
- Ethnic Studies, Critical Pedagogy, Dialogue, Critical Consciousness

This paper offers a concise glimpse of the research that lies behind the creative non-fiction slide/text presentation “Finding the Self in the City of Multitudes,” given at the 15th ELIA Biennial Conference, 20-23 November 2018, Rotterdam. It also gives an account of the workshop that accompanied the presentation and reflects on its impact.
It is published with selected conference papers in Resilence and the City- Art, Education, Urbanism.

- by Ranjana Thapalyal
- •
- Self and Identity, Interdisciplinarity, Critical Pedagogy, The Self

This research investigates how the Brazilian educational movement Educação do Campo’s (EdC) (education for and by the countryside) constructivist pedagogical method – the critical pedagogy of place – contributes to the upscaling of agroecology. The study is primarily based on data generated through ethnographic research conducted at an EdC school, the EFA-Puris in the Zona da Mata region of the state Minas Gerais. Fernandes (2009) argues that the tensions of power relations between the two main agricultural paradigms - agroecological and industrial – result in a contestation of territories. This research suggests that the EFA-Puris’ critical pedagogy of place is contesting both immaterial and material territories in favour of the agroecological agriculture. By raising the students’ critical consciousness and ecological literacy, they are encouraged to engage in organising and knowledge-sharing processes that are important for the upscaling of agroecology as both an agricultural paradigm and development model for the countryside. Despite the institutional advancements in Brazil for rural education, EdC still faces issues of funding and support from the government, which limits the extent to which territories can be contested.

- by Amalia Hammarund
- •
- Latin American Studies, Environmental Education, Critical Pedagogy, Agroecology

Critical consciousness, the process by which individuals come to understand, analyze, and take action against systems of oppression, is associated with several positive youth outcomes. However, little research has considered how the core components of critical consciousness (critical reflection, political agency, critical action) are associated with academic achievement. The present study explored the extent to which the developing critical consciousness of adolescents of color (N = 364) over 4 years of high school predicted academic achievement, as measured by grade point average (GPA) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Results demonstrated that adolescents' critical reflection and critical action intercepts predicted SAT scores whereas critical reflection and critical action slopes predicted GPAs. Political agency was not predictive of either academic outcome.

- by Daren Graves and +1
- •
- Developmental Psychology, Child Development, Critical Consciousness, Academic achievement

This article explores the effects of Arizona’s HB 2281 and Tucson Unified School District’s purging of its Mexican American Studies program on the utilization of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed in the public K-12 classroom. As the use of the text becomes more controversial, educators who wish to teach Freirean principles must choose between assigning the text to their students, at the risk of career ending consequences, or seeking out a substitute text that embodies his philosophies. It is suggested that a text popular within current youth culture be assigned in order to help students make personal connections with the content. The Hunger Games is presented as an appropriate alternative text due to having themes parallel to those presented in Freire’s text. The responsibility of teachers to help students integrate Freirean principles into their everyday lives is also discussed.

- by Anthony Neely
- •
- Critical Theory, Popular Culture, Paulo Freire, Youth Culture

Ethnic racial identity and critical consciousness frame how youth of color understand themselves in their racialized worlds. Although both may be salient in the lives of youth of color, little work investigates how ethnic racial identity and critical consciousness development overlap to promote positive outcomes during adolescence. This theoretical paper contributes to this effort, providing an overview of research on both phenomena and mapping their potential areas of congruence. This article concludes with suggestions of how the two processes might influence one another to foster positive developmental outcomes among youth of color. This work urges researchers to examine the intersections of ethnic racial identity and critical consciousness processes among youth of color that can lead to a more holistic understanding of how youth of color draw upon these processes to resist and challenge racial marginalization, as well as navigate diverse sociopolitical contexts.

- by Michael A Medina and +6
- •
- Race and Ethnicity, Critical Consciousness, Ethnic and racial identity, Racial and Ethnic Identity

Sociopolitical consciousness refers to an individual’s ability to critically analyze the political, economic, and social forces shaping society and one’s status in it. A growing body of scholarship reports that high levels of sociopolitical consciousness are predictive in marginalized adolescents of a number of key outcomes including resilience and civic engagement. The present study explored the role that urban secondary schools can play in fostering adolescents’ sociopolitical consciousness through a longitudinal, mixed methods investigation of more than 400 adolescents attending “progressive” and “no excuses” charter high schools. Analyses revealed that, on average, students attending progressive high schools demonstrated sizeable shifts in their sociopolitical consciousness of racial inequality, and students attending no excuses high schools demonstrated sizeable shifts in their sociopolitical consciousness of social class inequality. Qualitative interviews with participating students offered insight into the curriculum, programming, and practices that these youth perceived as contributing to these differences in their sociopolitical consciousness.

- by Daren Graves and +2
- •
- Racial Identity, Critical Consciousness, Sociopolitical Development

In this essay, Joanna Dreby, Sarah Gallo, Florencia Silveira, and Melissa Adams-Corral use a transnational frame to explore the meanings of US citizenship for binational children and its importance to experiences of belonging. Drawing on interviews with children ages six to fourteen living with their Mexican-born parents in rural Puebla, their analysis shows that children view US citizenship as signaling their social location in a historically based migratory system and that the meaning of this social location on children’s daily lives differs given their transnational experiences, specifically the extent of US schooling they received. Migration thus engenders understanding of power and privilege among young children and influences how they negotiate among their peers. The authors argue that young children may exhibit “critical postures”
arising from their migratory experiences. They conclude that schools on both sides of the border can view migrant children’s experiences and critical perspectives as assets that may provide more flexible spaces for learning and belonging.

- by Sarah Gallo
- •
- Border Studies, Critical Pedagogy, Elementary Education, Mexico
- by Raúl Alberto Mora (él/he/han/ele/il/on) and +1
- •
- Critical Theory, World Literatures, Literature, Children's and Young Adult Literature

Background: The related issues of food security and obesity among North American Indigenous children are serious public health concerns. This community-based participatory study sought to gain deeper understanding of young First Nation children’s lived experience with food and to learn, from their perspective, about food security issues in their community.
Methods: In this Photovoice investigation 26 young children attending a rural reserve school in Canada were asked to take photographs of the food they ate. Nine high school students from the same school were trained as co-researchers: they interviewed the younger students, helped identify emerging themes and contributed to knowledge translation. Data analysis incorporated conventional content analysis, grounded theory’s constant-comparative method, and examination
of photos and texts.
Results: Five primary findings emerged from photographs and interviews: (1) children had a dualistic understanding of healthy vs. unhealthy foods; (2) packaged, quick-preparation foods
played a dominant role in children’s everyday food experiences; (3) families were critical to children’s food-related experiences; (4) although traditional foods are viewed as central to Aboriginal health, few were depicted in the photographs; and (5) photos do not tell the whole story
– despite the smaller numbers of fruits and vegetables in photos, children like to eat these foods when they are available at home.
Conclusions: The study improved understanding of children’s everyday food-related experiences, provided insight into community food security, and demonstrated the contribution of children and youth as experts on their lives and matters affecting them. A photobook representing findings provided a rich, visual tool for communicating the food-related experiences of children and
messages about healthy eating within the school and to community members and leaders. Intervention efforts can build on participants’ understanding of healthy versus unhealthy foods and on the critical role of family for healthy eating.

- by chad olle
- •
- Critical Theory, Marxism, Counseling Psychology, Career Guidance Counseling
- by Lorraine Gutierrez
- •
- Community Psychology, Latino students, Empowerment, Social Work with groups

Sociopolitical development refers to the processes by which an individual acquires the knowledge, skills, and commitment to analyze and challenge oppressive social forces. A growing body of scholarship reports that high levels of sociopolitical development are predictive in adolescents of a number of key outcomes including resilience and civic engagement. The present study explored the role that urban secondary schools can play in fostering adolescents' sociopolitical development through a longitudinal, mixed-methods investigation of more than 400 adolescents attending "progressive" and "no-excuses" high schools. Analyses revealed that, on average, students

- by Daren Graves and +3
- •
- Critical Consciousness, Secondary schools, Sociopolitical Development, Racial Inequality

As community engagement continues to be institutionalized within colleges and universities it is increasingly important it retain its founding mission to prepare engaged citizens to address societal issues and contribute to the public good. Unfortunately, dominant models of community engagement remain charity focused and thereby reinforce social hierarchies that undermine the public good mission of higher education. Though many studies have focused on critiquing charity focused models of community engagement few studies offer alternative approaches. Utilizing an intrinsic single-case study approach this study investigates what can be learned from the narratives of 12 students in a community engagement program that uses feminist pedagogy. The findings suggest that a feminist approach to community engagement can be a catalyst for students’ to development critical consciousness and social justice self-efficacy by addressing issues of privilege and oppression in community-engaged work in ways that current community engagement models have yet to operationalize.

Despite a large body of research examining the impact of discrimination on health, the
ways in which perceived discrimination may lead to disparate health outcomes through a sense
of self and system consciousness is less understood. The current paper is concerned with both
mental and physical health consequences of discrimination, as well as mediating pathways
among African American and White women. Indirect effects analyses examine mediating paths
from discrimination to health outcomes via structural awareness and self-esteem, using data from
the Women’s Life Path Study (N = 237). Our findings suggest that discrimination is both directly
and indirectly associated with health outcomes for both Black and White women, mediated by
individual (self-esteem) and group-level (structural awareness) processes. Evidence from this
study indicates that discrimination is associated with heightened structural awareness, as well as
lower self-esteem – both of which are related to poorer health. Discrimination negatively
affected health across three domains, although the mechanisms varied somewhat for Black and
White women. Broad implications of this research for interdisciplinary scholarship on the effects
of discrimination on health and health disparities are discussed.

- by H. Shellae Versey and +1
- •
- Health Psychology, Subjective Well-Being, Race and Racism, Race and Ethnicity

This cross-sectional study surveyed graduate-level social work
and undergraduate psychology students (N = 409) at a large
university to explore the association of diversity exposure
(diversity of undergraduate institution, diversity of childhood
neighborhood, previous diversity courses), and color-blind
racial attitudes and awareness of racial oppression. White students
scored significantly higher on level of color-blind racial
attitudes compared to racial/ethnic minorities. Students who
attended predominantly White undergraduate institutions had
greater awareness of racial oppression than students who
attended racially balanced or institutions comprised exclusively
of one racial/ethnic group other than White. Understanding
how diversity exposure influences color-blind racial attitudes
and awareness of racial oppression will better inform multicultural
training and curricular delivery.

- by Ronald Pitner
- •
- Mental Health, Racial Identity, Multicultural Education, Critical Consciousness