Examining the pedagogical and institutional phenomena that influence the facilitation of critical consciousness

Abstract

This study engaged grounded theory methodology to explore how critical pedagogy shaped and influenced the development of critical consciousness among preservice teacher candidates. The teacher participants revealed that facilitating critical consciousness was a complex process influenced by pedagogical and institutional mechanisms. The pedagogical mechanism of coercive power and the institutional mechanism of compressed time both limited opportunities for student agency and constrained the development of critical consciousness. Two professors were successful in countering the negative consequences of these institutional and pedagogical mechanisms by enacting a legitimate form of power and facilitating dialogical learning contexts. These efforts are highlighted in the paper as key attributes of consciousness raising learning experiences among the preservice teachers.