Theoretical Frameworks and Methodology

• In Event: Academic Upgrading Students Remember their Pasts and Dream for their Futures through Photovoice

Abstract

Theoretical Frameworks
We draw upon critical literacy scholars who explore relationships among texts, power, and identity through critical reading and writing in K-adult classrooms (e.g., Author 1, 2022; Vasquez et al., 2019, Kinloch et al., 2017; Luke, 2018), including multimodal writing (Brownell, 2019; Thomas & Stornaiuolo, 2016; Wargo, 2019). Multimodal critical literacy invites students to recognize and redress issues of power and inequity, but also to “legitimatize [their] own inquiry through processes of personal production” (Wargo, 2019, p. 284). In this, we are indebted to Hilary Janks (2010), who argues for the interdependence of issues of access and diversity, investigates how power shapes classroom and social relations, and positions students as designers who can engage with and critically reimagine their worlds.

Methodology
This collaborative research involved collaborative practitioner inquiry (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009; Author 1, 2012; 2013), which foregrounds the situated experience and reciprocal connections between research and practice with the goal of “[democratizing] the locus of knowledge and power” (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009, p. 34) ensuring that all voices are heard and valued equally. Practitioner research positions all classroom community members—teachers, students, and our research facilitators—as knowledge generators and co-inquirers. We also draw on methods for community-based educational research (Ghiso & Campano, 2024), with the goal of nurturing “the collective brilliance of the community, where we learn, grow, and find hope” (xi).

Our research method, photovoice, is a participatory approach that involves students in the research process as they combine photographs, creative writing, and sound to tell the stories. Drawing on student poetry, reflections, photography, and dialogue (Castleden & Garvin, 2008), photovoice encourages students to develop and share their personal insights and experiences as a form of individual reflection and social documentation (Author 1 et al., 2018; de los Rios et al., 2017). Photovoice empowers student researchers with the autonomy to express their views, take ownership of their chosen topic, and demonstrate their expertise in their lived experiences (Huber et al., 2023). It has the added benefit of horizontalizing expertise, allowing students with a range of skills and comfort levels with academic research and technology to share their findings. In our collaborative project, students used photovoice to capture their social, political, and familial lives, both within and outside the school environment, revealing both intimate, tender moments and critical social perspectives.

Authors

• Rob Simon, University of Toronto

• Ashleigh A. Allen, University of Toronto - OISE