Building Classroom Relationships Through Photovoice

Demographic differences between the educator workforce and students demand new ways to increase teachers’ understanding of their students and facilitate authentic connections. In this study, we investigate the potential of photovoice to strengthen relationships between teachers and immigrant-origin students. Twenty upper elementary grades students of immigrant backgrounds were tasked with taking 20 Polaroid photographs of their lives outside of school that they believed would help their teachers understand them better. Interviews showed that students captured aspects of themselves that they felt they had few opportunities to share in the classroom, and they had clear ideas about how teachers’ actions and understanding could be improved by seeing their photographs. We argue that photovoice holds promise as a strategy to expand teachers’ knowledge and understanding of their students, inform practice, and increase cultural relevance in the classroom.