0001-8791/$ - see front matter  2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2005.07.001 Journal of Vocational Behavior 68 (2006) 220–232 www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb Critical consciousness and career development among urban youth  Matthew A. Diemer ¤ , David L. Blustein Michigan State University and Boston College, USA Received 30 April 2005 Available online 25 August 2005 Abstract This study explored the role of critical consciousness as a key factor in predicting progress in career development among urban high school students. Critical consciousness, or the capac- ity to recognize and overcome sociopolitical barriers, was operationalized through sociopoliti- cal analysis and sociopolitical control. Canonical correlation analysis indicated a statistically signiWcant relationship between critical consciousness and progress in career development, which was supported by estimates of eVect size, for a sample of 220 urban adolescents. Partici- pants with greater levels of critical consciousness had greater clarity regarding their vocational identity, were more committed to their future careers, and viewed work as a larger part of their future lives. These results suggest that urban adolescents may best engage the career develop- ment process by maintaining a critical awareness of sociopolitical inequity and situating their individual agency within this critical “reading” of the opportunity structure.  2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.  This article is based on a doctoral dissertation conducted by Matthew A. Diemer under the direction of David L. Blustein. This research was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid from the Society for the Psycho- logical Study of Social Issues and a Dissertation Fellowship from Boston College. The authors thank Et- iony Aldarondo, James Mahalik, and Ana Martínez-Alemán, who served on the dissertation committee and who provided valuable input on this project, as well as the constructive feedback of the reviewers. * Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, 441 Erickson Hall, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1034, USA. Fax: +1 517 353 6393. E-mail address: diemerm@msu.edu (M.A. Diemer).