Photography in Education and the development of Cultural Dialogues

For children growing up in an environment rich in visual imagery it is important that they develop skills in visual literacy in order to gain an understanding of the visual means of communication that surrounds them. Young children develop a visual awareness from a very early age and often use visual images as one of their primary means of communication. Photography is one of the most prominent forms of visual representation, and is also one of the cheapest and most accessible means of contemporary image production. Whereas in the past it has been seen as a medium that requires the acquisition of technical skills with the focus on darkroom-based work its definition has now broadened to include a whole range of non-darkroom based practices, digital technologies, and the use of found images.

In recent years many teachers, photographers, arts centres and galleries have been developing the use of photography in education, enabling young people to become active and articulate makers and producers of images. By utilising popular media in the classroom children have the opportunity to engage with their primary cultural experiences in an educational context, and recognition is given to the value of those experiences brought with them from home and their community. But while every school in the country recognises the importance of equipping students with verbal and written skills the importance of developing a visual literacy, both through practical production and critical analysis, is still not fully recognised.

Photography can be a powerful means of self-expression and from the simple activity of creating a self-portrait to the more challenging task of articulating complex feelings through a visual medium young people can take control of the image-making process to put themselves in the picture. It allows them to engage in the learning process in an active and participatory way, and provides access to sophisticated image construction for those without the more traditional skills of drawing and painting. Photographic activity can be used to make connections between school, the community and young people's home lives which in turn can open a dialogue on issues of culture and representation. Many class teachers have experienced difficulty finding good resource material that reflects the lives of the young people in their school. By introducing cameras into the classroom these young people can produce their own teaching resources that are a direct reflection of their lived experience. Photography offers them the opportunity to express their sense of themselves and is a means by which they can begin to explore and understand how they are shaped by the society in which they live.

Opening a visual dialogue as a means of communication between young people in different countries and cultures is an obvious way of overcoming language barriers. Through this dialogue they can learn about each other's school and home lives, their friendships and families, and their likes and dislikes. Images offer instant identification of the similarities or differences between individuals' experiences, surroundings, personal taste and style, and the process of looking at them can generate wide-reaching discussion encouraging a greater understanding of these countries and cultures. The material produced also provides a starting point for work not only in art but in subjects such as English, geography and PSHE.

The work used to illustrate this essay and included as part of the European Reflections exhibition is the result of a visual dialogue between young people living in the cities of Cluj-Napoca, Romania and Bristol, England. I was commissioned by Avon Education, and following its demise by South Gloucestershire Education Service, to work with 10-14 year olds in two Romanian schools and with Year 10 students at a secondary school, and Year 4, 5 and 6 students at two primary schools in Bristol. In the initial planning of the project one of the key issues was to facilitate a genuine dialogue between the schools and young people involved, one where the students in Bristol were making a direct response to the images created by their peers in Romania and vice versa. I felt it was important that the Romanian students had the opportunity to open the dialogue as in previous exchanges of this kind it seems that the partner country is always responding to work produced in the UK.

I visited Cluj-Napoca for one week in November 1995 and worked at the Bristol secondary school at the start of the Spring term 1996. I then returned to Cluj for a second week in March '96 and at the start of the summer term spent time at both Bristol primary schools. Working in Romania gave me the chance to learn something of the differences between their teaching methods and the methods employed in this country. Many of the activities I asked the young people to engage with seemed quite alien to them and it transpired that they had little experience of visual arts education to draw on. However, as the project progressed, through discussion and experimentation, they began to realise the possibilities of visual expression, and as a consequence developed an understanding of the importance of framing and composition, and the potential use of montage, extended drawing and the addition of text to construct new meanings through their images.

In both Romanian schools and the secondary school in Bristol the students were given identical activities in order to enable direct comparisons between the work produced. A travelling comments book was created for those students who also wanted to respond to the images in the form of a written dialogue. There was a general feeling amongst the Romanian students that their drawing and presentation skills lacked the sophistication shown in the Bristol students' work, but they felt that their photographic skills were on a par. However, they were surprised at the number of grammatical and spelling mistakes that they discovered in the text accompanying some of the Bristol images!

A selection of the work produced has now been collated as an exhibition in its own right and this will tour schools and public venues such as the town hall in Cluj-Napoca as well as primary and secondary schools in South West England.

In October this year a group of Romanian students had the opportunity to visit Bristol for ten days and as an introduction to their visit they were invited to a one day photographic event at Watershed Media Centre. This involved working with students from their partner schools in Bristol and South Gloucestershire using the camera and photographic materials to build pictures of their individual identities.

Using a combination of colour photographs, magazine images, photograms and photo batik each student constructed their own life size self-portrait that they could take away with them at the end of the day. The event was designed to be informal and non-threatening, encouraging supportive approaches to working and a sharing of ideas. The result was some exciting visual work and a swift and successful process of familiarisation for and with everyone involved.

In schools, particularly at secondary level, photographic activity is often automatically sited within the art curriculum. This is partly because it is within the art orders that the study of photography is now mentioned, but more importantly because the activity itself is still seen primarily as an art form rather than as a general tool for learning. For its full potential to be realised it needs to be embraced across the curriculum in both primary and secondary education, and opportunities given for long term development of projects, allowing continuity and progression.

Hopefully, with increasing numbers of articles and publications appearing on the subject, the support of organisations such as the Arts Council and the improved dissemination of information, teachers will find it easier to argue for the implementation of a systematic approach to photography in a variety of subject areas. Good quality INSET and the inclusion of photographic practice in teacher training courses will also lead to an increased awareness of and confidence in the use of the medium. Exploiting the full potential of photography in education will enable young people to engage with aspects of their lives and identities in the classroom, placing them at the centre of their own learning. It will also provide them with a means of not only representing but also understanding the world in which they live.

Kamina Walton - Freelance Photographer October 1996