Assess the role of Critical Consciousness to the development of a University graduate with Unhu/Vumunhu/Ubuntu.
Assess the role of Critical Consciousness to the development of a University graduate with Unhu/Vumunhu/Ubuntu.
ABSTRACT—Grounded in the theory and pedagogy of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, critical consciousness
(CC) comprises components of critical reflection, critical motivation, and critical action. CC represents marginalized or oppressed people’s analysis of societal inequities and their motivation and actions to redress such inequities. In this article, we introduce the theoretical underpinnings of CC, then look at the conceptualization and measurement of CC, and outline traditional and contemporary approaches to fostering CC.
We also summarize individual and collective outcomes associated with CC and offer suggestions for researchers and practitioners. Collectively, these insights suggest that CC is an important developmental asset for marginalized youth and communities.
The concept of critical consciousness (CC), or conscientizacao~ , was developed by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire (1) as an
approach to help rural Brazilian peasants learn to read the written word and read the world. For oppressed or marginalized people, Freire believed that developing literacy was intertwined with learning to critically “read” dehumanizing social conditions, because marginalization and oppression led people to believe that their voices and perspectives were irrelevant, that they were powerless, and that literacy was not necessary for “people like us.”
Freire observed that as oppressed peoples’ thinking about and understanding of their social conditions developed, their views
of themselves in relation to society also developed. That is, as their thinking about social structures became more nuanced and
complex, oppressed people became less constrained by their social conditions and, in turn, developed the agency and capacity to change these conditions, resolve developmental challenges, and determine their own lives.
This transitive cycle of developing reflection and action is a central element of CC theory (1) because CC entails “learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions, and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality” (p. 35).
Contemporary formulations of CC focus on youth (ages 12– 22), are grounded in Freirean thought, and posit three core elements: critical reflection, critical motivation (or efficacy), and critical action (2, 3).
Critical reflection refers to the process of learning to question social arrangements and structures that marginalize groups of people—“learning to see … how history works, how received ways of thinking and feeling perpetuate existing structures of inequality” (4, p. 13).
Critical motivation refers to the perceived capacity and commitment to address perceived injustices. Critical action refers to engaging individually or collectively to change perceived injustices (5). This perspective focuses on social stratification and discrimination to understand normative developmental processes and competencies among marginalized youth, consistent with classic (6) and contemporary scholarship (7) on development.As an example of how CC is applied, consider a U.S. high
school that suspends African American students disproportionately (see also 8).
Students with higher levels of CC would be more likely to recognize that school disciplinary policies are being applied differently by race, have more agency to respond to this injustice, and be more likely to address inequitable suspension rates by, for example, joining a student group, protesting by walking out, or attending a school board meeting to call attention to the issue. Students with lower levels of CC would be more likely to fail to recognize the disproportionate disciplinary practices, ignore or minimize the underlying racism, or blame the African American students who are suspended.
They would also be more likely to lack interest or feel powerless to do anything about the situation, or to avoid talking about or acknowledging the problem. In this article, we look at how CC is conceptualized and measured, then review traditional and contemporary approaches to fostering CC. We also summarize outcomes associated with and impacts of CC at the individual and collective levels. We conclude by offering suggestions for research, practice, and policy. Collectively, these insights suggest that CC is an important developmental asset for marginalized youth and communities.