Photovoice as a Research Technique for Student Learning and Empowerment: A Case Study from a South Texas Border Town

Abstract

Criminal justice (CJ) education often includes culminating research courses as part of its curriculum. Many of these courses follow a traditional process of considering ethics, theory, research design, quantitative and qualitative methods, and aspects of experiential learning. However, the pedagogy around engaging contemporary modes of knowledge building in CJ, especially those that critique traditional models and rely on new technologies, is lacking. This paper documents our experience using Photovoice methods to empower students as both residents and researchers to systematically assess manifestations of social disorganization in a mid-sized city along the U.S.-Mexico border. We first introduce how other disciplines have incorporated Photovoice into pedagogy, then focus on using a Photovoice study in the CJ classroom to investigate and understand social disorganization in a South Texas border town and consider influences for social action. We conclude with lessons learned and ideas for teacher-scholar-activists to engage in new modes of research pedagogy.

Keywords:

• Research methods
• photovoice
• social disorganization
• visual methodology
• research
• teaching

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Sadly, the implementation of the Photovoice study in the second author’s research course in San Diego was sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. San Diego, California, hosts one of the largest border crossings in the United States and the daily entries and exits swell the San Diego metropolitan population by nearly 100,000 people each day (General Services Administration, n.d.). Students were about to embark on photo collection in the community when the stay-at-home orders were announced. While this setback was unexpected, it has provided us the opportunity to first examine experiences from the Texas study.

2 This was a phrase commonly used – the first author heard this description from a variety of people, from students to a clerk at the local grocery store.

3 Before the semester began, the first author met with TAMIU’s IRB, which ruled that the project did not need IRB approval as long as students had the choice to participate or not, and no faces were collected in the photos. As we were focusing on disorganization in the community, this was not an issue. To ensure this requirement was satisfied, students were explicitly told that no faces could be collected. We also discussed how a face could be blurred in an image to protect identities, for instances in public spaces with larger crowds, an option that was approved by the IRB.

4 For a map of Laredo by City Council District, see: (City of Laredo, 2021).

5 As of the date this paper was submitted, the presentation of findings to the University and City Council remains delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We did not initially consider an online exhibit, in part, due to an uncertainty about how to host such an event. However, since the study’s conclusion, COVID-19 has opened many pathways for innovation in presenting this type of deliverable via a virtual platform in the future.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jared R. Dmello

Jared R. Dmello, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Social Sciences at Texas A&M International University and a non-residential Research Associate at the Center on Public Security at Rutgers University. He is also the recipient of the 2020 Ken Peak Innovations in Teaching Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Dr. Dmello's work primarily focuses on collective violence, ranging from criminal street gangs to terrorist activity, though he has experience in a broad range of topics pertaining to program evaluation, security studies, and criminal justice.

Kimberly R. Kras

Kimberly R. Kras, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at San Diego State University. She earned her Ph.D. in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 2014, following a career with the Missouri Department of Corrections Division of Probation and Parole. Her work centers on the study of community corrections organizations and practices, reentry, and desistance from offending behavior, and utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.