Abstract
The author was a volunteer at a national youth organization located in a low-income housing community, and was given the opportunity to work with the Torch Club, a youth civic engagement club made up of youth members from the Coventry Square club, age 12 or older. At the time, members of the Torch Club were not involved in a service project and they were open to suggestions. The purpose of this action research study was to enable participants to study and define their community through auto-driven photo elicitation. Opportunities to serve one’s community are important factors in helping youth develop the capacity to see themselves as civic actors. Service-learning that is meaningful and action oriented is well suited for work with youth from low-income communities. The benefits and challenges of using auto-driven photo elicitation along with the limitations of this study are also examined. Twelve youth were given disposable cameras and eight participated in the photo elicitation interviews. Through an analysis of the interviews and photos, three themes emerged: friends, the club, and the housing authority. This chapter explores these themes and how they relate to promoting youth civic engagement through community and social justice oriented service-learning.
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Notes
- 1.
The names of the club and participants have all been changed.
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Appendix: Picture Our Community Flyer
Appendix: Picture Our Community Flyer
Hey, have you heard what the Torch Club is up to now…
…is a new project that the Torch Club will begin soon. Members will be given disposable cameras and asked to take pictures of their community and then talk about the pictures. Think you might be interested but you’re not in the Torch Club? Well this project can include any Crestmont Boys and Girl Club Member. For more information and to participate come to the Tuesday April 8th Torch Club Meeting at 5:00 pm. We hope to see you there.
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Jones, D. (2018). Friends, the Club, and the Housing Authority: How Youth Define Their Community Through Auto-driven Photo Elicitation. In: Boucher, Jr., M. (eds) Participant Empowerment Through Photo-elicitation in Ethnographic Education Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64413-4_6
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