‘Why did the photographer choose only dark-skinned kids?’: Young students’ reactions to Otherness in photographs

Abstract

This article presents a case study of 2nd-grade Israeli students’ reactions to Otherness in photographs. The students participated in PhotoLingo, a unique intervention programme designed to promote thinking and language skills through a series of photo-based tasks. In the particular class, most of the students’ parents were Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union whose native language was not Hebrew, with average/below average socio-economic status. The study shows the students’ significant improvement in the use of thinking and language skills. Moreover, it highlights the ways in which the programme promoted the students’ social skills and enabled many of them to profoundly express well-considered ideas about Otherness, including reflections on their own sense of Otherness. These findings indicate the potential of employing photographs and photo-elicitation in stimulating discussions on cultural and social identities, differences and sense of belonging among children, and in enhancing their social awareness and sense of empathy.