Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wzw2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-02T01:33:28.541Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - Critical Consciousness Measurement

A Brief History, Current Status, and New Directions

from Part II - Measurement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2023

By
Luke J. Rapa ,
Sarah E. McKellar  and
Erin B. Godfrey
Edited by
Luke J. Rapa  and
Erin B. Godfrey
Luke J. Rapa
Affiliation:
Clemson University, South Carolina
Erin B. Godfrey
Affiliation:
New York University
Get access

Summary

In this chapter, we review the quantitative measurement of critical consciousness that has emerged within developmental and applied research over the last few decades. We provide a brief history and offer an overview of the current status of critical consciousness measurement. We also introduce four “phases” of critical consciousness measurement, which we refer to as (1) proxy measurement; (2) scale development; (3) scale expansion and (re)specification; and (4) scale refinement and adaptation. Due to their central role in critical consciousness measurement, we pay particular attention to instruments appearing in phase two, the scale development phase. After summarizing each phase, we identify opportunities for advancement and innovation in critical consciousness measurement and point to important new directions for measurement work in this area of scholarship – many of which are addressed more extensively in subsequent chapters of this volume.

Keywords

critical consciousnessinstrument developmentmeasurementscale developmentexploratory factor analysisconfirmatory factor analysis
Type
Chapter
Information
Critical Consciousness
Expanding Theory and Measurement
 , pp. 173 - 201
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aldana, A., Bañales, J., & Richards-Schuster, K. (2019). Youth anti-racist engagement: Conceptualization, development, and validation of an anti-racism action scale. Adolescent Research Review, 4, 369–381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-019–00113-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, A. M., & Brookins, C. C. (2014). Toward the development of a measure of sociopolitical consciousness: Listening to the voices of Salvadoran youth. Journal of Community Psychology, 42, 1015–1032. http://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21668.Google Scholar
Bañales, J., Aldana, A., & Hope, E. C. (in press). Critical race consciousness: Conceptualizing a model of race-specific critical consciousness among youth. In Godfrey, E. B. & Rapa, L. J. (Eds.), Developing Critical Consciousness in Youth: Contexts and Settings. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bolding, C. W., Ogle, J., & Rapa, L. J. (2021). Exploring undergraduate civil engineering students’ perceptions of infrastructure inequities: A pilot study. 2021 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10336901.Google Scholar
Byrd, C. M. (2017). The complexity of school racial climate: Reliability and validity of a new measure for secondary students. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 87, 700–721. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12179.Google Scholar
Chan, R. C. H. (2022). Development and validation of the critical reflection scale for youth in China: Factor structure and measurement invariance across age, gender, and sexual orientation. Applied Developmental Science. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2022.2059481.Google Scholar
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140(1), 139–167. http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8.Google Scholar
Collins, P. H. (1993). Toward a new vision: Race, class, and gender as categories of analysis and connection. Race, Sex, & Class, 1(1), 25–45.Google Scholar
Combahee River Collective. (1977/2014). A Black feminist statement. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 42, 271-280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diemer, M. A., Frisby, M. B., Pinedo, A. et al. (2022). Development of the Short Critical Consciousness Scale (ShoCCS). Applied Developmental Science, 26(3), 409–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2020.1834394.Google Scholar
Diemer, M. A., & Li, C. H. (2011). Critical consciousness development and political participation among marginalized youth. Child Development, 82, 1815–1833. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01650.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diemer, M. A., McWhirter, E., Ozer, E., & Rapa, L. J. (2015). Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of critical consciousness. The Urban Review, 47, 809–823. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-015-0336-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diemer, M. A., & Rapa, L. J. (2016). Unraveling the complexity of critical consciousness, political efficacy, and political action among marginalized adolescents. Child Development, 87, 221–238. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12446.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diemer, M. A., Rapa, L. J., Park, C. J., & Perry, J. C. (2017). Development and validation of the Critical Consciousness Scale. Youth & Society, 49(4), 461–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X14538289.Google Scholar
Diemer, M. A., Rapa, L. J., Voight, A. M., & McWhirter, E. H. (2016). Critical consciousness: A developmental approach to addressing marginalization and oppression. Child Development Perspectives, 10(4), 216–221. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12193.Google Scholar
Diemer, M. A., Voight, A. M., Marchand, A. D., & Bañales, J. (2019). Political identification, political ideology, and critical social analysis of inequality among marginalized youth. Developmental Psychology, 55(3), 538–549. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000559.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Freire, P. (1973). Education for critical consciousness. Continuum.Google Scholar
Freire, P. (1968/2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.Google Scholar
Godfrey, E. B., & Burson, E. (2018). Interrogating the intersections: How intersectional perspectives can inform developmental scholarship on critical consciousness. In Santos, C. E. & Toomey, R. B. (Eds.), Envisioning the Integration of an Intersectional Lens in Developmental Science. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 161, 17-38. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20246.Google Scholar
Godfrey, E. B., Burson, E. L., Yanisch, T. M., Hughes, D., & Way, N. (2019). A bitter pill to swallow? Patterns of critical consciousness and socioemotional and academic well-being in early adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 55(3), 525–537. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000558.Google Scholar
Heberle, A. E., Esposito, A., & Stewart, A. (2022, May). Measurement of Parent and Teacher Critical Consciousness. [Roundtable discussion of Spencer Foundation funded project on critical consciousness measurement]. Clark University.Google Scholar
Heberle, A. E., Rapa, L. J., & Faragó, F. (2020). Critical consciousness in children and adolescents: A systematic review, critical assessment, and recommendations for future research. Psychological Bulletin, 146(6), 525–551. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hope, E. C., Pender, K. N., & Riddick, K. N. (2019). Development and validation of the Black Community Activism Orientation Scale. Journal of Black Psychology, 45(3), 185–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798419865416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jemal, A. (2017). Critical consciousness: A critique and critical analysis of the literature. The Urban Review, 49, 602–626. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-017-0411-3.Google Scholar
Marchand, A. D., Frisby, M. B., Kraemer, M. et al. (2021). Sociopolitical participation among marginalized youth: Do political identification and ideology matter? Journal of Youth Development, 16(5), 41–63. https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2021.1089.Google Scholar
McWhirter, E. H., & McWhirter, B. T. (2016). Critical consciousness and vocational development among Latina/o high school youth: Initial development and testing of a measure. Journal of Career Assessment, 24(3), 543–558. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072715599535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plummer, J. A., Wray-Lake, L., Alvis, L., Metzger, A., & Syvertsen, A. (2022). Assessing the link between adolescents’ awareness of inequality and civic engagement across time and racial/ethnic groups. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51, 428–442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01545-6.Google Scholar
Poteat, V. P., Godfrey, E. B., Brion-Meisels, G., & Calzo, J. P. (2020). Development of youth advocacy and sociopolitical efficacy as dimensions of critical consciousness within gender-sexuality alliances. Developmental Psychology, 56(6), 1207–1219. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000927.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rapa, L. J. (2016). Fostering marginalized youths’ academic achievement and critical consciousness through a values-affirmation intervention. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, Michigan State University.Google Scholar
Rapa, L. J., Bolding, C. W., & Jamil, F. M. (2020). Development and initial validation of the Short Critical Consciousness Scale (CCS-S). Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 70, 101164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rapa, L. J., Diemer, M. A., & Bañales, J. (2018). Critical action as a pathway to social mobility among marginalized youth. Developmental Psychology, 54, 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000414.Google Scholar
Rapa, L. J., Diemer, M. A., & Roseth, C. J. (2020). Can a values-affirmation intervention bolster academic achievement and raise critical consciousness? Results from a small-scale field experiment. Social Psychology of Education, 23(2), 537–557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-020-09546-2.Google Scholar
Sánchez Carmen, S. A., Domínguez, M., Greene, A. C. et al. (2015). Revisiting the collective in critical consciousness: Diverse sociopolitical wisdoms and ontological healing in sociopolitical development. The Urban Review, 47, 824–846. https://doi:10.1007/s11256-015-0338-5.Google Scholar
Seider, S., Clark, S., & Graves, D. (2020). The development of critical consciousness and its relation to academic achievement in adolescents of color. Child Development, 91(2), e451–e474. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13262.Google Scholar
Shin, R. Q., Ezeofor, I., Smith, L. C., Welch, J. C., & Goodrich, K. M. (2016). The development and validation of the contemporary critical consciousness measure. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63, 210–223. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000137.Google Scholar
Shin, R. Q., Smith, L. C., Lu, Y. et al. (2018). The development and validation of the contemporary critical consciousness measure II. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65, 539–555. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000302.Google Scholar
Suyemoto, K. L., Abdullah, T., Godon-Decoteau, D. et al. (2022). Development of the Resistance and Empowerment Against Racism (REAR) Scale. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 28(1), 58–71. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000353.Google Scholar
Thomas, A. J., Barrie, R., Brunner, J. et al. (2014). Assessing critical consciousness in youth and young adults. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 24(3), 485–496. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12132.Google Scholar
Tyler, C. P., Olsen, S. G., Geldhof, G. J., & Bowers, E. P. (2020). Critical consciousness in late adolescence: Understanding if, how, and why youth act. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 70, 101165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101165.Google Scholar
Wang, C., & Burris, M. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education & Behavior, 24(3), 369–387. http://doi.org/10.1177/109019819702400309.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watts, R. J., Diemer, M. A., & Voight, A. M. (2011). Critical consciousness: Current status and future directions. In Flanagan, C. A. & Christens, B. D. (Eds.), Youth civic development: Work at the cutting edge. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 134, 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.310.Google Scholar
Watts, R. J., & Flanagan, C. (2007). Pushing the envelope on youth civic engagement: A developmental and liberation psychology perspective. Journal of Community Psychology, 35(6), 779–792. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20178.Google Scholar
Watts, R. J., Williams, N. C., & Jagers, R. J. (2003). Sociopolitical development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 185–194. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023091024140.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×