Children’s Perspectives through the Camera Lens Reflections on Meaning-making Processes and Participatory Research

摘要

In relation to any claims about “child-centred” research, the present article stresses the needto reflect on what is actually at stake in terms of participation and the meaning-making pro-cesses that evolve in a certain research setting. Our experiences with photo-taking methodsare based on two separate studies involving children (age 5-8 years) and young adolescents(age 12-16 year). Taking a constructivist approach, the article draws special attention toissues related to the age of the children, the type of camera used, the researcher’s statusin the fieldwork and the type of data acquired through these children’s photos. The articlestresses the need to perceive the story behind the photo as an outcome of how the childchose to position him/herself within a certain research context, which in turn affects howthe child sees, thinks and acts, but also what he/she sees.