In the 1960s, Lydia Rapoport, an American social worker, argued that "both social work and art can be understood as instruments of social change."Since then, the global interest in solutions combining science with art in the field of social work has been growing, which resulted in 2019 in the first book on this subject 鈥� 鈥淎rt in Social Work Practice: Theory and Practice: International Perspectives鈥�. Projects using photovoice as a method of participatory action research, involving socially disadvantaged and excluded people, fit into this line of research. They consist in inviting participants to the role of creators/co-creators giving meaning to their works, conveying their collective voice to a wider audience and starting a public debate around social and systemic problems.
We create images, we bring out our voices
During the group and individual meetings, the study participants talk about the difficulties, challenges, barriers and reinforcements that are related to their "winding path of a parent".
鈥�&苍产蝉辫;别虫辫濒补颈苍蝉 dr Izabela Kami艅ska-Jatczak.
The photos taken by the project participants show their experiences in a metaphorical way and reflect emotions accompanying them in the process of struggling with the problems of everyday life, which affect the experience of parenting.
Photographs with text and digital storytelling, which will bring the stories to life, will constitute the result of working with the group.
A fragment of a statement by the project participant and a photo:
I beat the whole system a few years ago. I got my kids back. It was a very, very, very long fight. I wrote to children and human rights ombudsmen. I was everywhere, even where they didn鈥檛 want me. There was strong determination and self-denial in me, such foot-stomping. And I was just coming in through the window when they didn't let me through the door.
[private source]
A fragment of a statement by the project participant and a photo:
When I go to work, this grille reminds me of every suicide attempt, why I made these attempts, what made me feel tired, what happened to me when I was a kid. The fact that because of such an attempt they wanted to take the child away from us. I don't know what helped us that in the end they didn't take it away from our home then. Well, I try not to think about it. Although it just comes to me and haunts me. I feel like a bad husband, bad father.
[private source]
An exhibition, where visual and textual statements of all the project participants along with a digital story will be presented, is planned. People who have influence on the fate of families with problems will be invited.
Art-based Participatory Social Research
The objective of the project is to create a space conducive to "bringing out" the voice of parents, so that they can hear each other and that others can hear them.
Together with the participants, we want the project to become an opportunity to meet an audience composed of people who have a direct or indirect influence on the fate of parents experiencing care and upbringing problems, fighting for keeping or recovering their children 鈥� representatives of institutions, decision makers, opinion makers. The exhibition will provide an opportunity for a public debate.
鈥� says dr Izabela Kami艅ska-Jatczak.
She adds:
The project can be described as a social experiment in which theoretical and practical goals intersect: it allows for an understanding insight into the world experienced by the project participants, creates an opportunity to initiate the process of creating a support group and is an attempt at reconstructing this process. Finally, it provides an opportunity to develop recommendations for conducting empowering participatory social research based on photography, as well as guidelines for people who want to use the photovoice method in crisis support.
Social discussion and support for parents with care and upbringing problems
The researcher assumes that scientists and practitioners in the field of critical and qualitative social work, social pedagogy, social activism, who are close to the issues of family support, group work, self-help, as well as a wider group of social researchers interested in participatory action research will be the potential recipients interested in the study results.
The research will open the way for us to start the process of social change. We want the support group established as part of the project to indicate the need for similar groups to be established by aid institutions and become the pioneer of such an action. Self-help groups are an important form of support. Parents at different stages of the family disintegration and reintegration processes share their knowledge and experience with one another. They develop their own strength by realising the potential of their own knowledge and experiences. They co-create a positive, supportive and at the same time correcting relationship in the group space 鈥� sums up the researcher.
鈥� cocncluded the researcher.
UL IDUB GRANTS
The UL Excellence Initiative - Research University 鈥� grant competitions under which the 91滴滴 funds research ideas of its scientists and doctoral students. By supporting them in conducting high quality research, the university implements a strategy of striving for research excellence in all fields and disciplines. The competitions also serve the purpose of internationalisation 鈥� developing and strengthening the University's cooperation with international researchers. As part of grants addressed to scientists from outside the University, experienced and young researchers join the team of the 91滴滴. This favours the fusion of experiences and increasing the University's scientific potential, supports networking and employee mobility.
The grants are financed as part of the subsidy increased by 2% for universities that joined the IDUB competition in 2019. 91滴滴 will receive additional funding for research until 2026. Internal grant competitions have been implemented since 2020.
Currently, in the 2nd edition, over PLN 3 million was used to finance young, experienced researchers and doctoral students in such grant competitions as: UL IDUB "Grants for young and experienced researchers" and "Doctoral research grants".
Source: dr Izabela Kami艅ska-Jatczak, Faculty of Educational Sciences, 91滴滴
Edit: Promotion Centre of the university of Lodz