MOBILISING CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN EDUCATIONAL CONTEXTS : A Community Psychology approach

This chapter addresses critical consciousness (CC) in educational and community psychology interventions with young people. We first introduce the conceptualisation of CC and its components, the main research findings on the links between CC and some individual and contextual variables, and its association with positive developmental outcomes. Then, we focus on interventions aimed to foster CC development in adolescents and young adults, presenting two case studies. The first case study is based on Youth- led Participatory Action Research (Y- PAR). The main goal was to promote critical active European citizenship, involving students at an Italian high school in a practical experience of PAR on social issues at local and European level. The second case study is based on the implementation of the service- learning (SL) methodology to promote CC and civic and cultural competences in Italian university students. Here the focus is on analysing the reflexive process in SL as a “tool” to critically understand and address social and cultural issues. Finally, the implications of CC for a future Community Psychology praxis are discussed.