Exploring the Process of Critical Reflection in Photovoice with Youth in the Cape Flats
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Critical consciousness is theorized to be an “antidote” to structural oppression for marginalized youth. Though founded on principles of critical pedagogy, Photovoice has largely been used as a needs assessment tool founded in community-based participatory research. There has only been limited study of the potential for Photovoice to be used as a tool to develop critical consciousness, particularly among youth. This study explores how youth in a Photovoice program participate in the process of critical reflection, which has been identified as one of the core and most understudied components of critical consciousness. Working in the Coloured Cape Flats context in Cape Town, South Africa, this phenomenological case study recruited 7 participants, ages 13 - 17, to participate in a 10-week Photovoice program that asked them to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement in their communities, participate in dialogue, and present their photos at a photo exhibition for community members and policy makers. Methods from visual sociology were used to analyze the primary source of data, 35 photos presented by participants and their matched captions, along with field notes, recordings of classroom discussions, interviews, and other photos that helped contextualize these photos. This analysis showed that participants display levels of critical consciousness matching the stages as Paulo Freire described – magic, naïve, and critical. This analysis also found that intentionality and forethought before and during photo-taking, using the imagination during photo interpretation and captioning, and group dialogue that facilitated collective introspection and helped push participants towards the critical level of consciousness. These results are aimed to be a guide for educators and community researchers who want to engage youth in critical pedagogy and emancipatory practice through Photovoice, and hope to inform previous frameworks created to conceptualize critical reflection.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | May 26, 2016 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Chen, Ray |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Alim, H. Samy |
| Advisor | Willinsky, John |
| Advisor | Naim, Kamran |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Graduate School of Education |
Subjects
| Subject | Graduate School of Education |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University |
| Subject | Photovoice |
| Subject | Cape Town |
| Subject | Cape Flats |
| Subject | Critical Pedagogy |
| Subject | Critical Consciousness |
| Subject | Critical Reflection |
| Subject | Visual Research |
| Subject | Participatory Research |
| Subject | Youth |
| Subject | Urban Youth |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Chen, Ray. (2016). Exploring the Process of Critical Reflection in Photovoice with Youth in the Cape Flats. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Stanford University, Stanford CA.
Collection
Undergraduate Honors Theses, Graduate School of Education
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- Contact
- rayjkchen@gmail.com
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