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7 - Critical Consciousness Measurement

A Brief History, Current Status, and New Directions

from Part II - Measurement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2023

By
Luke J. Rapa ,
Sarah E. McKellar  and
Erin B. Godfrey
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

In this chapter, we review the quantitative measurement of critical consciousness that has emerged within developmental and applied research over the last few decades. We provide a brief history and offer an overview of the current status of critical consciousness measurement. We also introduce four “phases” of critical consciousness measurement, which we refer to as (1) proxy measurement; (2) scale development; (3) scale expansion and (re)specification; and (4) scale refinement and adaptation. Due to their central role in critical consciousness measurement, we pay particular attention to instruments appearing in phase two, the scale development phase. After summarizing each phase, we identify opportunities for advancement and innovation in critical consciousness measurement and point to important new directions for measurement work in this area of scholarship – many of which are addressed more extensively in subsequent chapters of this volume.

Keywords

critical consciousnessinstrument developmentmeasurementscale developmentexploratory factor analysisconfirmatory factor analysis
Type
Chapter
Information
Critical Consciousness
Expanding Theory and Measurement
 , pp. 173 - 201
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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