Shifting Perspectives: Desocialization and the Journey Toward Critical Consciousness
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate how a service-learning course fosters
students' development of a critical consciousness. Participants of this research study were
students who participated in the 2009 International Service Seminar, a three-credit course
that culminated with a service trip to Antigua, Guatemala. Interviews were conducted with
participants that focused on students' experiences both during the class and in the year
since the completion of the course. Utilizing critical pedagogy literature, I focused on the
work of Jennifer Moon (1999) and Ira Shor (1992) to analyze the processes through which
students gain critical consciousness. What became clear in my analysis is that
desocialization was a significant component of the process of moving toward critical
consciousness. In fact, the highly personal ways in which desocialization was woven into
each students' experiences in the course, demonstrated that the journey toward critical
consciousness occurs in a jagged manner. Understanding the nature of the desocialization
process provides instructors of service learning courses the opportunity to foster critical
consciousness in a more successful manner.