“Hold up”: Linking Collectivism to Critical Consciousness in the Academic Identity Development of Latinx/a/o College Students

ABSTRACT

While scholars have identified that the development of a critical consciousness encourages the social activism of Latinx/a/o, little is known about how critical consciousness shapes the academic identity of these students. The purpose of this LatCrit narrative study was to identify how critical consciousness influences how Latinx/a/o students view and define their academic identity, specifically by moving them toward an asset-based and empowered academic identity, similar to becoming an activist on social issues. I argue that critical consciousness can have the same impact on academic empowerment but must be accompanied a deeper recognition of how the Latinx/a/o community is influenced by its collectivist roots.

KEYWORDS:

• Latinx/a/o college students
• academic identity development
• collectivism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.