Methodological reflections on the use of photovoice in school health research

Abstract

This article reports on the application of photovoice in the context of health promoting schools to advance conversation on reflexivity and positioning of the photovoice researcher. The purpose of the article is to provide practical insights and recommendations for the use of photovoice to help prepare beginning researchers for the complexities of working with this technique. I discuss my thoughts, feelings and observations when using photovoice to examine African immigrant students’ experiences of health promoting schools in Nova Scotia, Canada. Through photovoice, participants contributed actively to the production of knowledge associated with their schooling. However, it proved necessary to make changes and adaptations to the method as the research progressed.