Photovoice in the Middle How our Students Experience Learning at School and Beyond

Photovoice in the Middle: How our Students Experience Learning at School and Beyond New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, Volume 6, Issue 1, 35-46, 2009 EMILY NELSON KATE CHRISTENSEN SETTING THE SCENE One morning in May 2007 in a small, tucked-away disused... More

Photovoice in the Middle: How our Students Experience Learning at School and Beyond New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, Volume 6, Issue 1, 35-46, 2009 EMILY NELSON KATE CHRISTENSEN SETTING THE SCENE One morning in May 2007 in a small, tucked-away disused office space at William Colenso College a group of eight Year 8 (Grade 6) boys has assembled for their first photovoice session. Many are still unsure of why they were selected to participate and whether or not they themselves will choose to stay. What’s this about? I’m not sure I want to be here! I’ve got nothing to say! We’re all the naughty kids – are we in trouble? The conversation continues like this with each boy talking himself out of participating in a research project organized to find out more about how young adolescent students, loosely classified as ‘at risk’, experience school and learning, and more generally what makes them ‘tick’. Kate (Middle School Director of Curriculum and my research off-sider) and I can feel Less