Photovoice As a Tool for Exploring Barriers to Graduation Among at-Risk Students

Schedule:
Friday, January 16, 2015: 5:50 PM
La Galeries 3, Second Floor (New Orleans Marriott)
* noted as presenting author
Dana Harley, PhD, Assistant Professer, Northern Kentucky University, Cincincinnati, OH
Background and Purpose:

Few social work researchers have utilized photovoice methodology in studies with children and adolescents. The use of photovoice, an innovative participatory action research methodology, gives adolescents the opportunity to explore and define for themselves, through photography and narration, the everyday reality of their lives and their perceptions about the world. Limited research exists that explores barriers to high school graduation from the viewpoint of at-risk students.

This paper helps to address this gap in the literature by exploring the perceived barriers to high school graduation among at-risk students through the lens of photovoice. Research participants identified barriers to graduation and offered suggestions to overcoming such barriers to key stakeholders at a community gallery showing.

Methods:

Forty-two in-depth interviews were conducted with high school students identified as high-risk for not graduating.  Photovoice methodology was employed in this study. Research participants were given cameras and asked to capture photographs of barriers to graduating high school. Participants discussed their photographs with the researcher during an audio recorded interview. Each interview was transcribed verbatim. Constant comparative analysis was employed to analyze the data. Qualitative analysis software Nvivo9 was utilized to assist in data reduction and for the generation of themes across the data. 

Findings:

Data analysis revealed that barriers to graduation were related to lack of support, unmet basic needs, negative influences, lack of skills, distractions, health and mental problems, and substance use/abuse problems. Participants in the study often lacked a supportive network of people to guide them to graduation. Unmet basic needs interfered with research participants’ ability to thrive in school. Issues such as hunger, shelter, and transportation were identified as barriers to graduation. Lacking effective time management and study skills was also a problem experienced by research participants. Distractions such as cell phones, video games, and social networking sites were identified as barriers to completing school work and ultimately graduation. Struggles with health and mental health problems experienced by research participants or their family members were also a barrier. Participants pointed out that substance use and abuse was a major problem that could potentially interfere with graduation, and current drug prevention programs were ineffective.

Conclusion and Implications:

The use of photovoice with at-risk students offered unique perspectives through photography and allowed for expression of sensitive topics. The analyses yielded important information about specific factors that impeded high school graduation for such students. For example, students captured pictures of hypodermic needles used for injecting drugs, alcoholic beverages, prescription pills, and marijuana. Social workers can help meet the unique challenges of at-risk students by collaborating with school personnel to offer useful substance use/abuse prevention education.