Visual Methods for Social Justice in Education by Laura Azzarito

Author:Laura Azzarito
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783031257452
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

In line with Delgrado’s (2015) viewpoint, Mitchell et al. (2016) summarized that the photovoice method creates opportunities for marginalized populations to “1) develop strategies to reach policy-makers; 2) critically reflect on the issues; and 3) develop strategies to reach policy-makers” (p. 244). For instance, “We live in the shadow” (Kaplan, 2008) photovoice study brings hidden stories to the surface, displaying a visual testimony of inner-city kids’ experiences of their schools, neighborhoods, and family life. As a participatory arts community-based project, “inner city kids tell their stories” (Kaplan, 2013) in a neighborhood of high poverty and use photography to reveal the hidden and harsh realities of poverty and exclusion, reaching out to the public for critical reflection and social change.

Further, photovoice is a research methodology that emphasizes the intrinsic relationship between photo, voice, and “seeing,” opening up a wide range of empowering ways for research participants to “see” a problem and thus to offer alternative ways for the public to “look” at the issue. A “different” look at a problem can establish the need for policymakers to address the problem. For instance, using cellphilmmaking, Yang (2015) employed photovoice with young people in the context of South Africa to explore their responses to HIV-related issues, using social media as a site of public pedagogy to disseminate young people’s video production with policymakers and advocating for social change. The participatory video-making task resulted in a powerful tool of engagement for young people in an underserved school community and generated rich and thoughtful data. However, reflecting upon the research process, Yang (2015) cautioned researchers that young people’s self-generated visual data disseminated on social media requires adequate and careful provision of care and safety by adults. Especially when researchers deal with socially sensitive issues (e.g., drug abuse, HIV and AIDS, teen pregnancy) and/or with vulnerable populations, centering young people in the participatory research process calls for the researcher to work with and for young people with ethics of care. While participatory videos aim to reduce stigmatization, without cautious attention to the ways in which young people decide to represent themselves on social media, research participants’ video production might unintentionally reproduce stereotypes. To avoid unintentional misrepresentations, putting the themes and messages that emerged from photovoice’s research on display at public venues or exhibitions to share with community members, policymakers, and families needs careful consideration. As Fleming et al. (2009) noted, only with thoughtful curation does photovoice have the ability to capture a visual image in humanizing ways and then transform the image into a pedagogical vehicle for disseminating new information beyond the academic sphere among community members and policymakers for social change.

Community-based research can also be beneficial to other marginalized populations, such as LGBTQ youth of color, whose voices and experiences continue to be hidden, excluded, and altered by the racialized heteronormative gaze. To respond to the absence of research on the voice of LGBTQ youth of color, recently Capous-Desyllas and Mountz (2019) employed a photovoice methodology to explore the history, pathways, and life trajectories of youth before, during, and after foster care.

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