Participatory photography as a creative and collaborative tool in teaching peace education

Abstract

Peace and education are inseparable. Grounding on the aforementioned premise, peace education has become part of the curriculum in a number of countries including the Philippines. Along with the inclusion of peace education was the challenge of how to provide responsive and meaningful learning experiences in peace education. This article discusses the attempt of the use of participatory photography as a teaching methodology. Ten pre-service teachers participated in a peace education class that trialed the use of participatory photography as a teaching approach guided by a manual that was developed by the researcher. Through conducting a focus group discussion, and written reflections, the participants’ overall experience was ascertained. The participants regarded participatory photography as a potential teaching methodology that is constructivist and timely. The learning experience with participatory photography is described as a journey of self-discovery which is empowering to students.