Photo-elicitation and photo-voice: using visual methodological tools to engage with younger children’s voices about inclusion in education

ABSTRACT

Whilst the importance of engaging with children’s voices is now more widely recognized, there is still a dearth of representation of younger children’s voices specifically. Visual methodological tools, such as photo-elicitation and photo-voice are used in research; however, there remains a lack of clarity about what they mean, how they are used, and whether they are effective in providing valuable insights into younger children’s everyday worlds. This paper draws on the findings of two research projects utilizing the tools to engage with the voices of 56 children aged four to five years, in the classes of three schools in the UK. It identifies the differences between photo-elicitation and photo-voice and appraises their advantages and limitations when engaging with child voice. It explores whether through careful, critical and conscientious application, these tools might advance understandings of younger children’s perceptions of matters affecting them. The definition of photo-elicitation is the insertion of a photograph by the researcher into a research interview to evoke information, feelings, and memories due to the photograph’s particular form of representation; photo-voice is defined as a technique that enables people to record their own photographs.

KEYWORDS:

• Visual methodologies
• photo-elicitation
• photo-voice
• engaging with voices
• early childhood

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the children at the schools for allowing me to be a part of their education and to their parents for consenting to the use of their voices.

Disclosure statement

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