The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 57

Critical Consciousness Development

take action against the oppressive elements
of reality" (Freire, 2000, p. 35). CC has been
separated into two key elements: critical reflection and critical action (Diemer, Rapa, Park, &
Perry, 2014). Critical reflection is a process of
coming to understand the dynamics of power,
privilege and oppression at the personal and

While diversity education is
a way for students to engage
in an individual level of
analysis by reflecting on one's
own identities, social justice
education builds on and
problematizes the individualism
of diversity, while providing
students opportunities to engage
in broad structural issues and
develop a critical consciousness
toward societal change.

societal level (Cipolle 2010). Critical action
consists of "the perceived ability to change
social and political conditions and participation in individual or collective social action"
(Diemer & Li, 2011). By focusing on the ways
critical reflection is developed through the curriculum, we can better understand the process
of how EMDS students come to understand
the root causes of inequalities.

Moving from an individual level of analysis
to a structural analysis of inequalities enables
students to feel empowered and understand
how to engage in critical action. Thus, while
diversity education is a way for students to
engage in an individual level of analysis by reflecting on one's own identities, social justice
education builds on and problematizes the
individualism of diversity, while providing
students opportunities to engage in broad
structural issues and develop a critical consciousness toward societal change.

THE ESTHER MADRIZ DIVERSITY
SCHOLARS (EMDS) LLC
The Esther Madriz Diversity Scholars (EMDS)
is a LLC at the University of San Francisco
(USF), a small, liberal arts Jesuit University. According to its mission and educational
values, USF engages a Jesuit Catholic tradition
that "educates leaders who will fashion a more
humane and just world" (Vision & Mission
2015). The university's tagline, "Change the
World From Here," echoes this call to serve
others. In fall 2015, USF had an undergraduate
population of 6,782 of which 30.3% of students
identified as white, and 63% as female (Ziajka,
2016). Of the four EMDS cohorts we analyzed
in this paper, 21% of the students identified as
white, 15% as queer and/or questioning, and
68% as female.
EMDS was established in 2005 by the Sociology department and the Office of Multicultural Students Services (now the Intercultural
Center) as a selective program for second-year
students who are interested in learning about
social justice and social change issues. The
theme of EMDS is "Crossing Borders, Discovering Home" and students critically explore

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3

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