Re-imagining roles: using collaborative and creative research methodologies to explore girls’ perspectives on gender, citizenship and schooling

Abstract

Often girls are the objects of the camera’s lens and subjects of the researcher’s gaze. This article describes a qualitative study using a collaborative, creative and critical methodology to explore girls’ perspectives on gender, citizenship and schooling. The seven adolescent girl participants used Photovoice to engage with their roles as girl-citizens. Despite Canada’s international reputation as a leader in gender equality, evidence reveals that challenges still prevent their full participation, particularly in formal politics. This research raises questions about what life is like for girls and women in Canada beyond the rhetoric and global rankings, and adds to the often disconnected bodies of literature on girlhood, citizenship and education.

Keywords:

• girls
• gender equality
• youth civic engagement
• education for citizenship
• Photovoice
• action research

Notes

1. Mihika is a name chosen by one of the participants as her pseudonym for the project. All of the participants chose a pseudonym for themselves that was also supposed to be reflective of their cultural background.

2. Toddlers and Tiaras is a popular American television show that follows very young girls who are contestants in beauty pageants.

3. This term refers to the five Canadian women (Emily Murphy, Irene Marryat Parlby, Nellie Mooney McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edward) who went to the Supreme Court of Canada to have women recognized within Canadian society as ‘persons’.