A constructivist examination of using photovoice as a teaching method with MSW students and involving the larger community

ABSTRACT

Although scholars identify critical consciousness as an outcome of photovoice research, few studies specify the form in which the critical consciousness takes shape. This study analyzes the coursework from 55 Masters of Social Work (MSW) students who implemented and evaluated three photovoice projects. Using Charmaz's Constructing Grounded Theory, we find that the students learned how to de-center the social worker and critique resistance to the project. We also evaluated the community's response to the photovoice project. The photovoice assignment taught students the importance of de-centering the social worker’s agenda for creating change and to center the community's concerns. Critiquing resistance shows how the students learned to critique resistance to change in community practice. The community response to the project demonstrated how photovoice generates a creative, accessible, and moving way to engage with a difficult topic. These findings correspond with Freire's conceptualization of critical consciousness, a) developing an awareness of oppression, and b) taking action to address the oppression. The results demonstrate how using photovoice as an educational strategy with social work students enhances students' ability to perceive and attend to oppression. We conclude with implications for teaching and research, including preparatory exercises and how photovoice method engages resistance.

KEYWORDS:

• Photovoice
• pedagogy
• sexual violence
• community practice
• critical social work
• constructivism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The term Hispanic Serving Institutions was developed by the United States government to designate resources to colleges and universities that enroll 25% or more students who identify as Latinx. We acknowledge that the term ‘Hispanic’ emerged from a history of white supremacist colonization of the Americas, but use this term to contextualize where we conducted the study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Beaks Up Speak Up, Bystander Intervention, University of Texas San Antonio.

Notes on contributors

M. Candace Christensen

M. Candace Christensen, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas San Antonio in the Department of Social Work, San Antonio, TX, U.S.A. Candace’s research centers on using critical feminist and arts-based methodologies to address power-based violence.

Caitlin Caswell

Caitlin Caswell, LMSW, is a graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio Master of Social Work Program and is currently the internal program evaluator for a non-profit organization in Memphis, TN. Her research interests are centered on youth development and youth-led social change.

Inci Yilmazli Trout

Inci Yilmazli Trout is a PhD Candidate in Education with a focus on Adult Education, Social Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in the Dreeben School of Education at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX, U.S.A.