The Journey Toward Developing Political Consciousness Through Activism for Mexican American Women

Abstract

This study examined how Mexican American women made meaning of their undergraduate activism and its potential implications on their development toward self-authorship. The developing political consciousness model emerged from their interviews to demonstrate the process of developing increasingly complex social knowledge, the shift of motivation to engage in activism from being a peer expectation to an internalized life calling, and an increasingly complex understanding of political tactics and ability to collaborate with members and other organizations for the goal of achieving political change.