Shifting Perspectives: Desocialization and the Journey Toward Critical Consciousness

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.