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

Abstract

Deep-seated structural racism in the U.S. has been thrown into bold relief by the racially disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 and a series of highly visible police murders of Black Americans. Longstanding and intergenerational economic inequalities have been laid bare by the ensuing economic recession. This special issue's focus on how people critique, challenge, negotiate and change inequities is therefore particularly (and, unfortunately) relevant and timely. These three papers approach critical consciousness from three distinct angles. In this commentary, I will offer several points of praise for these three papers, along with a few suggestions on ways that the authors' lines of thinking could be extended or more nuanced. I will identify a few themes that cut across these three papers: (1) the importance of focusing on critical action, (2) how these papers advance our thinking on how, when, and for whom CC develops, with specific attention paid to the social identities, life phases, and events that impact CC, and (3) a deepening of our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of CC. In reviewing these three papers, I consider how each of them adds to the collective conversation about the ways that we might recognize, challenge, and work to change marginalizing systems and transform inequity to create a more just world.

Examining Classism and Critical Consciousness Within Psychology of Working Theory

“…For example, critical consciousness may be an internal resource to use in the vocational decision-making process when mentorship is limited (Bowers et al, 2020). However, despite domains of critical consciousness being theoretically and statistically distinct (Diemer, 2020;Diemer & Rapa, 2016;Diemer et al, 2017), PWT did not develop specific hypotheses about how components of critical consciousness act as moderators. This leaves the nuanced buffering effects of the critical consciousness subcomponents unclear and limits information to create interventions for those who face contextual barriers.…”

“…However, the complexity of critical consciousness has generated mixed results about the relations among subscales and vocational or well-being outcomes. Conceptually, the three dimensions of critical consciousness are separate and do not necessarily facilitate other dimensions (Diemer, 2020;Jemal, 2017). Supporting this claim, some research has found weak, nonsignificant, or negative correlations between these constructs (Diemer & Rapa, 2016;Diemer et al, 2017).…”

College and Career Ready and Critically Conscious: Asset-Building With Latinx Immigrant Youth

“…This perspective may be especially salient for efforts to foster critical consciousness within the curriculum. The degree to which students with greater levels of privilege can develop critical consciousness remains a topic of discussion (Diemer, 2020). Our stance is that the integration of CCR and CC has potential benefit for all students, including those who profit, often unknowingly, from systems that marginalize their peers.…”

How to Be an Antiracist: Youth of Color’s Critical Perspectives on Antiracism in a Youth Participatory Action Research Context

“…Scholars of critical consciousness and critical youth studies have argued that research in these areas have focused heavily on the critical reflection and political efficacy dimensions of critical consciousness, at the expense of critical action (Diemer, 2020; Watts et al, 2015). YPAR projects provide an important avenue for investigating all the dimensions of critical consciousness, including how reflection and political efficacy may lead youth to take individual and collective action to improve or change their personal, interpersonal, and sociopolitical conditions (Foster-Fishman et al, 2010; Kornbluh et al, 2015; Scott et al, 2015).…”