School and Parental Influences on Sociopolitical Development Among Poor Adolescents of Color

Abstract

Sociopolitical development represents a motivation to reduce sociopolitical inequity, a healthy sense of the self, and perceived agency in the context of structural oppression. Sociopolitical development has been associated with progress in career development, school engagement, and healthier sexual behavior among oppressed and marginalized adolescents. However, knowledge of outcomes that sociopolitical development may facilitate has outpaced knowledge of what may facilitate sociopolitical development. This paper examines key aspects of adolescents' context—the school and parents—and their potential influence on the sociopolitical development of poor adolescents of color. This research question is examined with 2,078 National Educational Longitudinal Survey participants. The obtained structural equation model suggests that parental support and student racial relations are predictive of sociopolitical development. These results provide empirical support for extant sociopolitical development models and illuminate our understanding of a critical social justice issue. These results inform sociopolitical development interventions, counseling practice, and scholarly understanding of how oppressed adolescents cope with sociopolitical inequity.

Critical Consciousness: A Critique and Critical Analysis of the Literature

“…Supportive contexts may encourage the development of perceived capacity that one can make a difference and seems to foster engagement in sociopolitical action (Diemer et al 2009). For example, observing a family member actively resist racism may encourage one to develop CC (O’Connor 1997).…”

Critical Consciousness Development and Political Participation Among Marginalized Youth

“…Peers, parents, and the school are particularly salient contexts in youth's civic and political development (Flanagan, Gill, Cumsille, & Gallay, 2007;Kahne & Sporte, 2008). These contexts may support critical consciousness development by fostering low-SES youth's perceived capacity to change social and political conditions and encouraging participation in social action (Diemer, Hsieh, & Pan, 2009).…”

Enacting a Critical Pedagogy, Influencing Teachers’ Sociopolitical Development

“…In their paper on the impact of public education and families on the sociopolitical development of young people of color experiencing poverty Diemer et al (2009) characterize SPD as ''an orientation toward social justice'' (p. 318). Among the similarities to emerge in all of these theories of sociopolitical development are that the awareness of oppression precedes taking concrete action, the emphasis on social justice or the eradication of oppression as the reason for taking concrete steps, and the importance of working with others when reflecting or acting.…”

“…Articles have been published describing sociopolitical development as a possible ''antidote to oppression'' (Watts et al 1999). More recently scholarship on the application of SPD to school settings has begun to emerge (Zion et al 2012;Watts and Flanagan 2007;Diemer et al 2009Diemer et al , 2010. Previous studies have examined various approaches to preparing educators to meet the needs of students from historically marginalized communities (see e.g., Agarwal et al 2010;Banks et al 2005;Bergeron 2008;Brown 2004;Chang et al 2011;Conner 2010;Rychly and Graves 2012;Santoro 2009), but none explicitly take up the question of how, or if, SPD happens in White teachers.…”