2.4 THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
2.4.1 Critical consciousness
Critical consciousness is the ability to perceive social, political and economic oppression, and to take action against the oppressive elements of society (Freire, 1974 [2005]). Freire, the developer of critical consciousness, explains critical consciousness as a socio-political educative tool that engages learners in questioning the nature of their historical and social situation (Wikipedia). Critical consciousness is a popular educational and social concept that is grounded in post-Marxist Critical Theory.
Critical consciousness, also known as conscientisation (conscious raising), is an educational and social concept. It was developed by the Brazilian educator, philosopher, and educational theorist Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (Freire, 1974 [2005]). Friere developed the methods of critical consciousness in order to help the oppressed third world people in Brazil to gain awareness of the world’s conditions while teaching them to read, hence his first book is titled ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’. Freire further states that critical consciousness also includes taking action against the oppressive elements in society, as well as in life in general. Since the mid-20th century, when Freire was developing his ideas of critical consciousness, the focus was increasingly on the ‘rights’
perspective and social injustice. In his attempts to instil his notion of critical consciousness, Freire divided critical consciousness into three components:
• Critical reflection (critical social analysis):
Critical reflection refers to a social analysis and moral rejection of societal inequalities that constrain wellbeing and human agency.
• Political efficacy:
The capacity to affect social and political change by individuals, or collective activism.
• Critical reflection:
Individual or collective action taken to change aspects of society, such as institutional policies and practices, which are perceived to be unjust. This critical action includes activities such as voting, community organising, and peaceful protests.
Freire also believed that there is a strong relationship between reflection and action in a sense that people do not act to change their social condition without some consciousness or awareness that their social conditions are unjust. Once they act to change their social condition, they, in turn, obtain a deeper understanding of the unjust in their social conditions.
Paulo Freire grounded his educational and social concept in Post Marxist Critical Theory. Like Karl Marx, Paul Freire believed that the world needed to be changed and transformed through education. Freire believed that education should allow the oppressed to regain their sense of humanity, in turn overcoming their conditions. He further maintained that the oppressed individual must play a role in his/her liberation
(Freire, 1974 [2005]). His views about the ‘banking model of education’ was that students should not be passive recipients of knowledge during teaching and learning. He supported the promotion of learning through engagement with the world, rather than teachers simply depositing knowledge into their students. He stood for collaboration, and rejected sharp hierarchies between teachers and students. Freire regarded students as participants and as equals to teachers. He emphasised the importance of equity between students and teachers in which both learn, question, reflect, and participate in meaning-making.
He laid the foundations of what is currently known as critical pedagogy since he believed that social relations create a ‘culture of silence’ that instils a negative, silenced, and suppressed self-image in learners. Freire further expressed that learners should develop critical consciousness in order to realise that this culture of silence is created to oppress. Regarding the culture of silence, Freire continues that individual consciousness helps end the ‘culture of silence’ in which the socially depressed embrace the negative images of themselves created by the oppressors instituting extreme poverty. He thus viewed education as liberal education since, according to him, this is the tool that could liberate the people from social injustice.
2.4.1.1 How is critical consciousness used in educational research?
Critical consciousness has been used in educational, as well as in science research, especially in photo-voice projects where participatory action research is involved. In their study, Carlson, Engebretson and Chamberlain (2006) used a photo- voice project to involve 54 participants who resided in a low income African-American urban community. The participants (residents) were expected to take photographs of things in the community of which they were proud and things that they wanted to change, as well as to tell the story of why those photographs were important. This correlates with critical consciousness since the participants had to know their world first before endeavouring to change it.
Another photo-voice project was conducted in Yunnan, China. This was was done in collaboration with women in China, and was aimed to reveal issues about their work and their health, and also how they wished their lives could be changed for the better by reaching people in power (Wang, 1999). Wang continues, saying that using
photo-voice as a tool for action reflects participatory action research’s commitment to meaningful social change.
In South Africa, one of the national photo-voice projects was conducted by educators in collaboration with subject advisors. This study was conducted during the National Environmental Education and Training (NEEP-GET). In this project, both photo-voice, as well as newspaper articles were used to develop lesson plans that addressed local environmental issues in all learning areas (Jacobs, 2005, pp. 10-18). The findings from the project indicated an increase in learners’ understanding and aesthetic sense of the environment.
2.4.1.2 How is it related to my study?
Critical consciousness, as embraced in my study, focuses on marginalised learners, who were also community members within the South Durban basin. The study dealt with the learners’ lives as they were put at stake by large industries, and the government in power did not protect them. Maree (2007) states that critical research focuses on the contexts and conflicts in society, and that people at grass roots level seek to be freed from that situation by taking action.
Alternatively, Henning (2004) sees the aim of Critical Theory being to promote critical consciousness and to break down inequality. Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007) argue that in a critical framework, the marginalised and the taken for granted are given the opportunity to take action for emancipatory interest. This relates to my study because the learners, who were participants in the study, were given an opportunity to voice their painful experiences of the effect of pollution in their area with the intention of freeing themselves from their situation.
Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007) further argue that critical theorists claim to disclose the needs and the struggles of the people, regardless of whether people are aware of their situation or not. My study is framed under Critical Theory because it deals with power relations within society, where people in power and large industries in the South Durban basin do not care about the health or the powerless communities of the South Durban basin.
In critical research, there is no distance between the researcher and the participants. The researcher works in collaboration with the participants as co-partners
(Henning, 2004). This is evident in this study because the researcher worked in collaboration with the participating learners.