Photovoice as an instructional tool—creatively learning social justice theory

Abstract

This article aims to provide a record of how the use of the method of photovoice facilitated an enriched teaching and learning experience for graduate students in a Theories of Social Justice in Health class. The course required students from multiple disciplines to learn about social justice theories and then apply them to a health issue/concern. For their final project, students chose a topic of interest and choose to complete a traditional paper or a photovoice project using one (or more) of the social justice theories examined in the course. Our manuscript describes four students’ and the professor’s experiences to document the positive impact the photovoice project had on their learning of social justice theory. Through this process, the students found the qualitative research method of photovoice to be a successful pedagogical tool for engagement and provided an experiential learning opportunity for co-creating and sharing knowledge.

Keywords:

• Photovoice
• social justice
• pedagogy
• research
• health

Disclosure statement

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

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Our photovoice project would be considered a short-term experiential learning activity. As explained in Wright (2000), “short-term experiential learning can be incorporated in a course for a brief period of time, often lasting less than a day” (p. 117). The alternative is “experiential learning methods such as cooperative and service learning, that often involve semester to year-long commitments from both student and instructor” (Wright, 2000, p. 116).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Beatrice Harrietha

Beatrice Harrietha holds a Master of Public Health degree from the Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is passionate about public health, preventative medicine and has a special interest cardiac research.

Jessica Pelley

Jessica Pelley (she/her) is a fourth-year medical student at Memorial University. She is passionate about public health, with specific interests in preventative medicine, Indigenous health advocacy, and addressing health inequities. She hopes to pursue a career in pediatrics with a focus on these interests.

Winifred Badaiki

Winifred Badaiki is a Clinical and Organizational Ethics Fellow at the Hamilton Health Sciences. She holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from the National University of Kharkiv, Ukraine and a Master's in Health Ethics from Memorial University. Her professional interests include clinical ethics, reproductive ethics, clinical research, and health equity.

Sophia V. Wells

Sophia V. Wells is a Master of Health Ethics student in the Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Her research interests include physician conscientious refusals, quality improvement, and the interaction between socio-political theories and bioethics education and research.

Jennifer M. Shea

Dr. Jennifer M. Shea is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University. She is a community-based researcher and adheres to the central tenants of this approach in teaching, including empowerment, co-learning, participation, and innovative approaches. In the classroom she follows three primary goals to help ensure that she is benefiting and enhancing the learning experiences of her students – motivating and engaging, enhancing collaboration and fostering critical thinking.