Seeing “Life” Outside School: Using Photovoice to Measure School Connectedness in High School Students

Background and Purpose: School connectedness is a powerful protective factor against poor academic and emotional outcomes (Kidger, Araya, Donovan, & Gunnell, 2012; Resnick et al., 1997; Shochet, Dadds, Ham, & Montague, 2006). Given the positive outcomes, assessing student perceptions of school connectedness is critical. Most studies of school connectedness rely on surveys and interviews to measure school connectedness. However, photovoice, a community-based participatory research method, offers another way to evaluate connection to schools. Photovoice entails giving cameras to research participants who then capture viewpoints or perspectives that surveys or discussion alone might not capture (Davison, Ghali, & Hawe, 2011). Few studies have used photovoice to examine school connectedness. Therefore, the primary study objective was to employ photovoice to explore what elements of the school environment make students feel connected to school and what elements make them feel disconnected to school. Methods: The project was undertaken at a local high school in collaboration with the advanced photography teacher. Students in the advanced photography course were recruited to participate in the study. Seven students returned signed consent forms and 6 female students ultimately participated in the focus group. Students chose the pictures they wanted to share in the focus group and the pictures were projected on the wall during the meeting. Each student took a turn discussing her photos using the interview schedule described by Wang (2006) (e.g., How does your photograph make you feel connected or disconnected to your school?). Students also wrote captions on the backs of their pictures. Results: Qualitative analysis of the photographs, captions, and focus group responses revealed an interesting finding. For these students, opportunities to connect with nature fostered school connection. Subthemes within the broader nature theme included time outdoors in the sunlight, animals on campus, floral landscape, and the school garden. Homework, dress code policy, and school building appearance and maintenance contributed to school disconnection. Key themes were shared with the school leadership team who planned to use the findings to inform their new vision statement. Conclusions and Implications:The findings are largely consistent with the literature on school climate and connection; however the link between nature and school connection is unique and warrants future research. It would be beneficial to replicate this study with a larger, more diverse group of students to see if the finding on the relationship between nature and school connection would emerge. The results also point to possible implications for practice. School staff may explore ways for students to spend more time outdoors and/or consider other ways to integrate nature with the educational experience. Further, schools may consider ways for students to have a voice in the development of school policies. Ultimately, students’ stories are critical to understanding the aspects of the school environment that foster connection (Gowing & Jackson, 2016). Future research should continue to elevate student voices through unique methods such as photovoice.