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6 - Making Reflection Critical

Structural and Historical Attributions for Inequity

from Part I - Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2023

By
Esther Burson ,
Erin B. Godfrey ,
Riana M. Brown  and
Deanna A. Ibrahim
Edited by
Luke J. Rapa  and
Erin B. Godfrey
Luke J. Rapa
Affiliation:
Clemson University, South Carolina
Erin B. Godfrey
Affiliation:
New York University
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Summary

Critical consciousness (CC) theory emphasizes a form of reflection on social, political, and economic conditions that analyzes the historical root causes of inequity and the ways these inequities are systemically perpetuated and magnified through laws, policies, and institutions. Despite the theoretical centrality of structural and historical thinking in CC, most empirical work on the topic has not incorporated these constructs into measures of critical reflection. The current chapter explores the rationale for measuring structural and historical thinking in critical reflection and considers challenges to doing so. We present factor analytic work showing how new measures of structural and historical attributions can be incorporated into existing measurement of critical reflection. We discuss strengths and weaknesses of this approach and explore the implications of this expanded measure.

Keywords

critical reflectionstructural thinkinghistorical thinkingattributionsmeasurementfactor analysis
Type
Chapter
Information
Critical Consciousness
Expanding Theory and Measurement
 , pp. 145 - 170
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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