What Does it Mean to be Black and Aware? A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Black Racial Identity and Critical Consciousness

Black racial identity (i.e., the process and content of developing Black identity) and critical consciousness (i.e., awareness, beliefs, and actions to challenge structural oppression) are significant contributors to positive youth development. Yet, little research has empirically examined how these two processes may intersect to shape Black youth and emerging adults’ identities as American citizens. The integration of these two developmental processes highlights how Black youth and young adults understand themselves in a race-salient society and engage in social change. Paper 1 reviews and integrates Black racial identity and critical consciousness theories highlighting how these two processes may interact. The theoretical framework posits three testable postulates that outline associations between racial identity and critical consciousness development. Paper 2 tested postulates presented in chapter 1 by examining how youths’ racial discrimination experiences related to their critical conciousness beliefs and whether youths’ racial identity beliefs around the importance and meaning of race moderated this relationship. This study also tested if political efficacy mediates the relationship between critical reflection and critical action. Five models were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) on a national sample of Black youth and emerging adults (N=634, ages 15-25) from the Black Youth Culture Survey. Findings indicate that more reported racial discrimination experiences are associated with higher critical reflection (structural attributions). While racial identity beliefs showed significant direct effects with structural attributions in ways that were aligned with the postulates (lower public regard related to more structural attributions), I found only weak support for the hypothesized moderation effects. Political efficacy did not mediate the association between critical reflection and critical action. Study findings suggest that racial discrimination plays a critical role in developing systems thinking in Black youth and emerging adults and that racial identity beliefs may facilitate this connection for some youth. Findings also suggest the potential utility of future research to consider age and developmental variation in the study constructs and their associations. Paper 3 tests reciprocal relations between racial identity exploration and critical action in Black college students using a longitudinal cross lagged model over three timepoints. This study tests postulates presented in paper 1 by examining how Black college students’ critical action catalyzes racial identity exploration. Further, this study tests how racial identity exploration may promote critical action, as exploration may include participation in social justice oriented activities. Student responses are drawn from the Minority College Cohort Study (MCCS), a 4-year longitudinal survey of Black and Latinx college students. Respondents who self-identified as Black (N=237) were included for this study. Four models were assessed via cross-lagged panel modeling to determine how the two processes associate during the senior year of high school through the first two years of college. Exploration and critical action at Wave 3 were assessed as mediators of Wave 1 and Wave 6 critical action and Wave 1 and Wave 6 exploration, respectively. Findings suggest that racial identity exploration and critical action are reciprocal processes for Black college students. Exploration at Wave 3 (end of freshman year) mediates of the relationship between Wave 1 critical action (senior year of high school) and Wave 6 critical action (sophomore year of college). Findings also suggest that future research should focus on alternative longitudinal methods to consider how racial identity and critical consciousness change over time.PHDEducation & PsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163187/1/cjmath_1.pd

Understanding Parents' Roles in Children's Learning and Engagement in Informal Science Learning Sites.

Informal science learning sites (ISLS) create opportunities for children to learn about science outside of the classroom. This study analyzed children's learning behaviors in ISLS using video recordings of family visits to a zoo, children's museum, or aquarium. Furthermore, parent behaviors, features of the exhibits and the presence of an educator were also examined in relation to children's behaviors. Participants included 63 children (60.3% female) and 44 parents in 31 family groups. Results showed that parents' science questions and explanations were positively related to children observing the exhibit. Parents' science explanations were also negatively related to children's science explanations. Furthermore, children were more likely to provide science explanations when the exhibit was not interactive. Lastly there were no differences in children's behaviors based on whether an educator was present at the exhibit. This study provides further evidence that children's interactions with others and their environment are important for children's learning behaviors

Assessing adolescents' critical health literacy: How is trust in government leadership associated with knowledge of COVID-19?

This study explored relations between COVID-19 news source, trust in COVID-19 information source, and COVID-19 health literacy in 194 STEM-oriented adolescents and young adults from the US and the UK. Analyses suggest that adolescents use both traditional news (e.g., TV or newspapers) and social media news to acquire information about COVID-19 and have average levels of COVID-19 health literacy. Hierarchical linear regression analyses suggest that the association between traditional news media and COVID-19 health literacy depends on participants' level of trust in their government leader. For youth in both the US and the UK who used traditional media for information about COVID-19 and who have higher trust in their respective government leader (i.e., former US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson) had lower COVID-19 health literacy. Results highlight how youth are learning about the pandemic and the importance of not only considering their information source, but also their levels of trust in their government leaders

Sociopolitical Participation Among Marginalized Youth: Do Political Identification and Ideology Matter?

Engaging youth in the political system has promise for creating social change and ensuring the future of our democracy. Sociopolitical participation—individual and/or collective action to facilitate change—may be biased towards more liberal or Democratic views, which emphasize reform to create social equity. The aim of this study is to test if youth who vary in political ideology (i.e., conservative, liberal) and political identification (i.e., Republican, Democrat) participate at different levels and whether this measurement of sociopolitical participation is in fact biased. These issues were examined among 237 youth attending a large Midwestern high school who generally identified with historically marginalized groups. Results suggest that youth identifying as Republican exhibited slightly higher levels of participation, and that items were not biased by political ideology or identification. Further, political ideology and identification explained less than 5% of the variance in sociopolitical action, suggesting it is largely independent of political leaning

Understanding Parents’ Roles in Children’s Learning and Engagement in Informal Science Learning Sites

Informal science learning sites (ISLS) create opportunities for children to learn about science outside of the classroom. This study analyzed children’s learning behaviors in ISLS using video recordings of family visits to a zoo, children’s museum, or aquarium. Furthermore, parent behaviors, features of the exhibits and the presence of an educator were also examined in relation to children’s behaviors. Participants included 63 children (60.3% female) and 44 parents in 31 family groups. Results showed that parents’ science questions and explanations were positively related to children observing the exhibit. Parents’ science explanations were also negatively related to children’s science explanations. Furthermore, children were more likely to provide science explanations when the exhibit was not interactive. Lastly there were no differences in children’s behaviors based on whether an educator was present at the exhibit. This study provides further evidence that children’s interactions with others and their environment are important for children’s learning behaviors

Understanding Parents’ Roles in Children’s Learning and Engagement in Informal Science Learning Sites

Informal science learning sites (ISLS) create opportunities for children to learn about science outside of the classroom. This study analyzed children’s learning behaviors in ISLS using video recordings of family visits to a zoo, children’s museum, or aquarium. Furthermore, parent behaviors, features of the exhibits and the presence of an educator were also examined in relation to children’s behaviors. Participants included 63 children (60.3% female) and 44 parents in 31 family groups. Results showed that parents’ science questions and explanations were positively related to children observing the exhibit. Parents’ science explanations were also negatively related to children’s science explanations. Furthermore, children were more likely to provide science explanations when the exhibit was not interactive. Lastly there were no differences in children’s behaviors based on whether an educator was present at the exhibit. This study provides further evidence that children’s interactions with others and their environment are important for children’s learning behaviors

Critical Action and Ethnic–Racial Identity: Tools of Racial Resistance at the College Transition

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/174826/1/jora12790_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/174826/2/jora12790.pd

Recentering Action in Critical Consciousness

Scholarship on critical consciousness frames how people who are more marginalized deeply analyze, feel empowered to change, and take collective action to redress perceived inequities. These three dimensions correspond to critical reflection, motivation, and action, respectively. In this article, we aim to recenter action in scholarship on critical consciousness, given the disproportionate attention that has been paid to reflection. To achieve this aim, we review empirical associations between critical action and positive developmental consequences among more marginalized youth, highlight promising practices to foster critical action, and identify questions and key areas for inquiry. We hope this article motivates a recentering of critical action in scholarship, policy, and practice on critical consciousness.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166387/1/cdep12393.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166387/2/cdep12393_am.pd

Use of water of spring wheat on the Great Plains /

no.1004 (1923