Images of inclusion: a photovoice study of psychology students’ representations of inclusion

Introduction The inclusion of diverse people, viewpoints, and experiences is currently being recognised as a key issue in both community and education. Psychologists are considered those who should support an inclusive approach in communities, schools, and the workplace. Methods In this study, we embedded a photovoice activity into educational sessions to access representations of inclusion among psychology students in Slovakia. The researchers analysed 223 photos and written comments using qualitative polytextual thematic analysis of visual data. Results The authors constructed three main themes showing the perspectives of sensitivity, accessibility, and inclusion as a safe space. Although sensitivity represented images of the diversity of needs, the theme of accessibility covered mainly images of physical and organisational compensatory aids for a variety of specific conditions. The theme “inclusion as a safe space” illustrates the inclusion in its psychological and social contexts of adaptability and the general idea of acceptance of diversity. Discussion Overall, the results show that photovoice can serve as a relevant method for assessing representations of inclusion among students. Implications of the results for the training of psychologists are discussed.