Conscientization and the Discursive Construction of Identity Across cultures: Using Literacy Autobiography as a Reflective and Analytical Tool

This paper reports on an ongoing study that utilizes the literacy autobiographies of 10 Asian and 10 Western graduate students from TESOL Masters programs in Korea and America as data for a cross cultural study on the discursive process of identity formation and the development of critical consciousness (Freire, 2000). While the data suggests similarities and differences between cultures in terms of the effects of education, social relationships, media, and religion, no definitive claims may be made due to the small size of the research corpus. However, analysis of the data revealed that only four of the narratives could be judged as engaging in critical introspection of individual subjects systems of knowledge, values, and beliefs, as opposed to the other narratives that were primarily descriptive of individual personal experiences. As such, this study found that while the willingness and ability to engage in the critical practices which lead to the development of a critical consciousness are similar across cultures, they may be mediated by the literacy practices inscribed in education, media, and other social practices.