In Search of Conscientização: Students’ Experiences in a Composition Course where Social Justice Education is Incorporated

Authors

Ana CowoFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Curriculum and Instruction

First Advisor's Name

Dr. Sarah Mathews

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Co-Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Dr. Keisha McIntyre-McCullough

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Co-Chair

Third Advisor's Name

Dr. Maria Lovett

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Dr. Flavia Iuspa

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

critical thinking, critical consciousness, conscientizacao, social justice, social justice education, first year composition, composition, community college, critical theory, teaching for social justice, writing

Date of Defense

3-16-2023

Abstract

This qualitative single case study explored students’ experiences in a composition course where social justice education was incorporated. By using critical theory as the framework and its application through social justice education, the study looked at how students in the course experienced four essential principles of social justice education incorporated in the course– academic skills necessary to navigate the world (Golden & Christensen, 2008), critique (Adams, 2010), call for action (Freire, 1993), and relevance to students’ lives (Hackman, 2005) along with writing. The overarching research question for this study was: What are students’ experiences in a Composition course where social justice education and pedagogies are incorporated? This question was explored with two sub questions, (a) What are students’ experiences in the course as it relates to social justice? and (b) What are students’ experiences in the course as it relates to writing?

The study was conducted at an urban community college in south Florida and focused on one composition course with an enrollment of 18-20 students where the instructor incorporated four principles of the study’s working definition of social justice education. Data were collected through classroom observations; semi-structured interviews with the instructor and seven students; and document analysis that included writing and assignment prompts and student writing samples. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to look for common themes.

Three major themes emerged related to students’ experiences in the course as it relates to social justice and their understanding of social justice based on the course content and discussions: familiarity with social justice prior to taking the course, social justice knowledge gained from the course, and plan of action as a result of taking the course. Three major themes also emerged related to students’ experiences in the course as it relates to writing: students’ description of the course, students’ feelings about the course, and students’ feelings about the course assignments. Overall, six of the seven students reported having more knowledge of social justice after taking the course although their understanding of social justice seemed to be limited to only the specific issue they investigated or adjacent issues. Six of the seven students also shared that their composition skills had improved as a result of taking the course.

Identifier

FIDC011004

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Cowo, Ana, "In Search of Conscientização: Students’ Experiences in a Composition Course where Social Justice Education is Incorporated" (2023). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5319.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/5319