Interrogating the Intersections: How Intersectional Perspectives Can Inform Developmental Scholarship on Critical Consciousness

Abstract

Developmental psychologists widely recognize that the social structures and inequities of American society influence youth development. A burgeoning body of research also considers how youth marginalized by society critically evaluate societal inequities and take action to change them (critical consciousness, Freire [Education for critical consciousness (Vol. 1). Bloomsbury Publishing.]), suggesting that marginalized youth who are more critically conscious experience improved mental health and better educational and occupational outcomes and are more engaged in traditional forms of civic behavior. The current manuscript critically reviews and extends this area of research from an intersectional perspective. Drawing from core writings in intersectionality and more recent psychological applications, we contend that research on marginalized youth's critical consciousness could be further strengthened by (1) focusing on marginalizing systems, rather than marginalized individuals; (2) conceptualizing and examining multiple systems of oppression; and (3) paying greater attention to sociohistorical knowledge. We conclude with some initial concrete recommendations for integrating principles of intersectionality into scholarship on youths' critical consciousness development.

The Development of Critical Consciousness and its Relation to Academic Achievement in Adolescents of Color

“…On one hand, our sample served as a key strength of the study, given the need for increased scholarship examining the relation between critical consciousness and academic achievement specifically with adolescents of color from low‐income households. In so doing, our sample also seemed to align with Godfrey and Burson’s () recent call for developmental scholarship on critical consciousness that demonstrates sensitivity to intersectional perspectives by examining the critical consciousness of youth facing “particular systems of oppression and particular intersections of these systems” (p. 29). However, these findings may not generalize to adolescents from other geographic, racial, and economic groups, or possibly even to adolescents attending traditional, district secondary schools.…”

“…Utilizing such particular measures of critical reflection and action have both strengths and limitations. One key strength is that the specificity of these measures avoids Godfrey and Burson’s () admonition against critical consciousness scales that invoke “broad generalities, assessing awareness, for example, of ‘oppression’ of ‘social groups’ and generalized ‘inequality.’” (p. 25). That said, even the present study merges adolescents’ consciousness of two different forms of injustice (e.g., racial, economic) into a single composite when such consciousness may be more domain‐specific.…”

“…One key strength is that the specificity of these measures avoids Godfrey and Burson's (2018) admonition against critical consciousness scales that invoke "broad generalities, assessing awareness, for example, of 'oppression' of 'social groups' and generalized 'inequality.'" (p. 25).…”

Pushing the envelope: The who, what, when, and why of critical consciousness

“…Spurred (in part) by recent theoretical insights about how intersectionality theory would advance CC scholarship ( Godfrey & Burson, 2018 ) and empirical work examining CC development among working-class White youth ( Hershberg & Johnson, 2019 ), CC scholarship has begun to reconsider whether only marginalized people can develop CC. Further, intersectionality theory has complicated an overly simplistic dichotomous conception of marginalized vs. not marginalized.…”

The Evolution of Acculturation and Development Models for Understanding Immigrant Children and Youth Adjustment

“…Researchers would not focus on a single demographic axis (e.g., experiences of discrimination based on being either an immigrant, or Latinx, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender [LGBT]), but on multiple axes simultaneously and not additively (e.g., experiences of discrimination based on being an immigrant, Latinx, and LGBT at the same time; Parra & Hastings, ). Rather than focusing solely on individuals and their microsystems, which may lead to a search for how to “fix” marginalized individuals and their immediate contexts, an intersectional perspective would investigate how marginalizing institutions present barriers for the positive development of immigrant children and youth (Godfrey & Burson, ).…”