Teaching diversity in public participation through participatory research: A case study of the PhotoVoice methodology

ABSTRACT

This article provides an introduction of the PhotoVoice methodology – a community-based participatory research methodology that uses photographs to critically engage hard-to-reach populations within policymaking and the public participation process. Exposing students to qualitative methods like PhotoVoice can provide opportunities to bridge the diversity gap in public participation while promoting community engagement, cultural competency and qualitative research methodologies. This case study focuses on an undergraduate and graduate class designed to support the implementation of a PhotoVoice project with long-term HIV survivors in Miami, FL. It outlines how the method can be adopted within the classroom to not only teach critical competencies but also to support diversity within the public participation process.

Keywords:

• Public participation
• teaching
• qualitative research
• diversity
• PhotoVoice

Acknowledgments

The authors with to thank the activist-artists for their dedication and inspiration. We thank the staff of Pridelines, Inc., for their support through all phases. We thank the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) at Florida International University for financial support for the project.

Notes

1. While the SHOWeD method is notable for encouraging participants to think about social change and community action, it is also criticized for eliciting unrealistic expectations regarding policy changes (see Johnston, 2016).

2. Community participant perspectives are outside the realm of this paper. See Witkowski et al. (2020) for a more detailed analysis of this project from the community perspective.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) at Florida International University.

Notes on contributors

Kaila Witkowski

Kaila Witkowski is a doctoral student at Florida International University, Department of Public Policy & Administration. Her research and teaching interests focus on collaborative governance, health policy, community engagement and participatory qualitative methods.

Armando Matiz Reyes

Armando Matiz Reyes is a research associate at Florida International University in the area of public health and a specialist in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), having conducted numerous research and community intervention projects in the urban US (Miami, Detroit), the Caribbean (Dominican Republic), and Latin America (Colombia, Panama). Dr. Matiz’s work focuses on structural vulnerabilities and health promotion among marginalized populations, including LGBT persons, sex workers, gang members, and incarcerated populations.

Mark Padilla

Mark Padilla is a professor of anthropology in the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University. He is a medical anthropologist with research and teaching interests in issues of gender, sexuality, race, migration, political economy, commercial or transactional sex, theories of tourism, and critical HIV/AIDS and drug research. His work seeks to shift research, dialogue, and policy by amplifying the voices and experiences of the communities he studies to raise awareness of social inequalities and provide directions for policy change, community engagement, and social transformation.