Table Of ContentMichael L. Boucher, Jr. Editor
Participant
Empowerment
Through Photo-
elicitation in
Ethnographic
Education Research
New Perspectives and Approaches
Participant Empowerment Through Photo-elicitation
in Ethnographic Education Research
Michael L. Boucher, Jr.
Editor
Participant Empowerment
Through Photo-elicitation
in Ethnographic Education
Research
New Perspectives and Approaches
123
Editor
Michael L. Boucher,Jr.
Texas State University
SanMarcos, TX
USA
ISBN978-3-319-64412-7 ISBN978-3-319-64413-4 (eBook)
http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64413-4
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Acknowledgements
Theeditorisindebtedtotheinsightful,patient,andthoughtfulscholarswhoagreed
to partake in this project and who trusted me to pull it all together. Your work is
inspirational. Thanks especially to Sarah Mathews who worked her network to get
us started.
I would also like to thank my wife, Karen, for always being supportive (in-
dulgent) of my endeavours, scholarly and otherwise.
Thanks also to Jacklyn Black and Eugenia Ugartechea for their work in main-
taining the resources, and to John Segovia for help in the final proofing.
v
Contents
Part I Methodological, Critical, and Ethical Considerations
1 Introduction: Photo Methods, the Image, and Validity . ..... .... 3
Michael L. Boucher, Jr.
2 The Ethics of Visual Research and Participant Empowerment........ 25
Kyle Miller
Part II ‘Listening’ to the Silenced
3 Auto-driven Photo-Elicitation Interviews with
Young Deaf People . .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 47
Dai O’Brien
4 Using Photo-Elicitation to Break the Silence.. .... .... ..... .... 71
Kharon Grimmet
5 Photovoice as a Tool for Understanding Sustainability
in the Anthropocene .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 93
Deborah J. Tippins, Sophia (Sun Kyung) Jeong, Purita P. Bilbao
and Lourdes N. Morano
Part III ‘Listening’ to Kids and Teachers
6 Friends,theClub,andtheHousingAuthority:HowYouthDefine
Their Community Through Auto-driven Photo Elicitation.... .... 117
Denisha Jones
7 Do You See What I See? Family-Produced Photographs
and the Transition to School .. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 139
Kyle Miller
8 Curb My Cynicism: Employing Photo Elicitation to Address
the Problem of Research on Bullying.... .... .... .... ..... .... 163
Gerald Walton
vii
viii Contents
9 Mediating the Space Between: Using Photo-Elicitation
to Prompt Cultural Consciousness-Raising ... .... .... ..... .... 177
Sarah A. Mathews
10 Interrogating Whiteness: Using Photo-Elicitation to Empower
Teachers to Talk About Race.. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 201
Michael L. Boucher, Jr.
Conclusion: Troubling Empowerment... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 227
Author Index.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 235
Subject Index.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 237
Editor and Contributors
About the Editor
Michael L. Boucher, Jr. Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas State
University. Dr. Boucher received his Ph.D. from Indiana University after his work as an urban
highschoolteacherandteacher-leaderinMinneapolis,MN.Usingphotomethodsinethnographic
case studies, his research investigates the pedagogy and practice of White teachers working in
solidarity with students of color in segregated education systems. He teaches research methods,
instructionalmethods,diversity,andadolescentdevelopmenttograduatestudents.
Contributors
Purita P. Bilbao West Visayas State University, Iloilo, Philippines
Michael L. Boucher, Jr. Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA
Kharon Grimmet Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Sophia (Sun Kyung) Jeong University of Georgia, Athens, USA
Denisha Jones Trinity Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
Sarah A. Mathews Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
Kyle Miller Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
Lourdes N. Morano West Visayas State University, Iloilo, Philippines
Dai O’Brien York St John University, York, UK
Deborah J. Tippins University of Georgia, Athens, USA
Gerald Walton Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
ix
Part I
Methodological, Critical, and Ethical
Considerations
Chapter 1
Introduction: Photo Methods, the Image,
and Validity
Michael L. Boucher, Jr.
Abstract Althoughthetwohavedistinctorigins,photographyandethnographyare
linked in history and practice. The technology and application of photography as
documenteranddriverofsocietyhascreatedaconvergenceofcultureandimagenot
possibleinformerages,andYetinsocialscience,theimagehasbeenslowtogain
acceptanceasatoolfordatacollectionanddissemination.Thisintroductiondescribes
the origins and mechanisms of this powerful union and explains how the use of
imagesinethnographicworkenhancesvalidity.Thechaptershereinaretestamentsto
thepowerofusingimagesinethnographicresearchasmorethanameremechanism
fordeeperdatacollection,butalsoasanempoweringexperienceforparticipants.
The great landscape photographer, Ansel Adams (1902–1984) said, “When words
becomeunclear,Ishallfocuswithphotographs.Whenimagesbecomeinadequate,I
shallbecontentwithsilence”(Oden,2017).Ihavealwayslovedthatidyllicimage
of the artist gazing at a landscape, hearing nothing but the breath of the earth, but
that is not our world; the world of the educator, the ethnographer, or the social
scientistineducation(Bauer,2000).Thus,wecannotbecontentwithsilence,either
literal, nor existential (Mead, 1995). As social scientists, we have made words our
medium to display the human tapestry of culture, but what of images? The daily
newswebsiteonourphonesisrepletewithimagesthatfocusourgazeontheissues
and people of the moment. We have become a culture of self-creators on social
media who show our created selves to others who like our travels, accomplish-
ments, and living milestones (Barthes, 1981; Belting, 2011; Rose, 2012). In Ansel
Adams’s world, the photo was a mechanical representation of the reality around
him, but intoday’s world,the photo is as much of a reality as our own experience
(Barthes, 1981; Becker, 1995; Chaplin, 2002; Pyyry, 2015; Rose, 2012). When a
relationshipisofficial,itispostedonsocialmedia.Thephrase,Photos,oritdidn’t
happenisamaximformanyyouthinoursociety.Whenthewordsbecomeunclear,
we can turn to pictures and share what words cannot.
M.L.Boucher,Jr.(&)
TexasStateUniversity,SanMarcos,TX,USA
e-mail:[email protected]
©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2018 3
M.L.Boucher,Jr.(ed.),ParticipantEmpowermentThroughPhoto-elicitation
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