Exploring culture through the Voices of Children

What happens when disposable cameras, accompanied by requests for photographs of everyday experiences, are given to children in a number of different cultures? This paper explores the photographic images and text that children from five different countries have contributed to an innovative research project called Voices of Children: Exploring Childhood and Culture through Visual Literacy. Their photographs and words reflect the various personal and cultural dimensions of their lives, providing a basis for exploring the diversity of their experiences across a range of contexts. Global trends in education include rapid technological and cultural shifts evidenced by the move from traditional classroom practices to the incorporation of authentic and relevant educational experiences. The changes in practice that have ensued encourage students to make meaning of their real world experiences. This project provides opportunities for them to do this by requiring them to construct photographic images that have relevance for their lives through a medium that encourages critical engagement in learning (McGirr, 2001).