“Citizenship is where you are” compact photovoice as research method and pedagogy for post-16 citizenship education

he lack of statutory provision for citizenship at post-16 in England creates an educational space of obstacles and opportunity. The study outlined in this paper describes and illustrates a photovoice project designed in direct response to post-16 leaders’ feedback which highlighted the lack of resources and time available to deliver citizenship and the inconsistencies within and across settings both in schools and alternative FE provision. Photovoice projects can often run across several months, involve participant incentives and aim to reach policy makers with their outputs. The method described in this paper takes photovoice and makes the process more ‘compact’ and therefore accessible for application in a busy education setting, while seeking to adhere to the original participatory and emancipatory spirit of the framework. Photovoice in this setting is both method and pedagogy and seeks to empower through a critical engagement with both subject content, participants’ local areas and experiential knowledge on the margins of the taught curriculum.