Collaborative peer research and photo-elicitation for empowering teachers and students in the study and promotion of positive youth development

1. Purpose. The purpose of the panel discussion is to exchange knowledge and experiences around the Collaborative Peer Research methodology and the photo-elicitation strategy for empowering participants and stakeholders involved in the study and promotion of Positive Adolescent Development in secondary education. This methodology and strategy have been implemented in the R&D project PHOTO-Edu, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PID2022-136865OA-I00) and led by the Complutense University of Madrid.

2. Theoretical exposition. The theoretical exposition presents three themes:

a) Positive Youth Development (PYD) as a research focus. This perspective defines adolescence as a vital stage of growth, learning, and the acquisition of skills for the transition to adulthood (Lerner et al. 2021). Its implementation aims to empower adolescents, prevent risk situations, and increase their resilience. However, this inclusive approach is emerging in secondary education (Oliva et al. 2010), requiring new initiatives to connect research and educational practice to advance this knowledge.

b) Collaborative Peer Research (CPR) as a methodology is defined based on the characteristics of collaborative peer inquiry (Godfrey, 2020), collaborative research, and peer research (Dixon, 2019). CPR is presented as a participatory methodology for social justice, where all stakeholders are empowered by acquiring skills to assume the role of researcher and coordinate to understand, transform, and improve a shared phenomenon. It is framed within participatory action research as a critical social science (Godfrey, 2020), which fosters the research role of all participants for the joint generation of new knowledge through various transformative cyclical processes (Argyris, 1977).

c) Photo-Elicitation (Ph-E) as a qualitative strategy (Bautista García-Vera et al., 2023) is proposed as a participatory research strategy and, at the same time, an educational strategy, seeking to connect students, teachers, and academics to understand the realities and needs of adolescents. Implementing Ph-E processes requires digital skills and media literacy, providing alternatives for student empowerment adapted to the ways adolescents communicate in the digital age.

3. Application experience. The research methodological model implemented in the R&D project PHOTO-Edu is presented. Its purpose is to establish the possibilities and conditions for implementing photo-elicitation as an inclusive strategy to promote PYD in secondary education (Fernández-Rodrigo et al., 2024). The project follows the CPR methodology and Ph-E as the main qualitative data collection strategy. A total of 314 students and 10 teachers participated, distributed across 12 case studies in four secondary schools. The research model follows key procedures for collaborative work among all the agents involved, specifying cooperation between academics and teachers, teachers and students, and students and academics. These procedures include: teacher training for the subsequent implementation of Ph-E in the classroom on a regular basis with students; teachers providing photographs and audio recordings of the narratives to academics; co-analysis of the content of the photographic narratives; and co-creation and implementation of the strategy and methodology among students, teachers, and academics.

4. Results. Some of the results from the PHOTO-Edu project are presented. These results address the specific objective of establishing professional teacher competencies for the successful implementation of photo-elicitation in secondary school classrooms through collaborative peer research. Individual interviews with seven teachers from the project's 12 case studies were conducted using a semi-structured set of questions. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and their content analyzed using a system of dimensions and categories guided by concepts and data (Gibbs, 2014). The data contributed to consolidating two dimensions of professional teacher competencies: 1) for promoting students' PYD in the classroom through Ph-E as an educational strategy; 2) for participating in collaborative peer research projects using Ph-E as a data collection strategy. Dimension 1 identifies the following categories: tutoring and educational guidance; leadership for good coexistence and positive democratic values; and competency-based, curricular, and inclusive teaching and learning processes. Regarding the conditions for implementing the strategy and its educational possibilities, two teachers (T) mention:

• T11: “The truth is that the atmosphere was very good, because I turned off the lights, we projected, [...] it was very conducive, and the classroom is very nice, and it's true that they were motivated.”
• T07: “Talking to them, telling them, trying to create a group, as I tell them, that you are colleagues and that you have to help each other, that we have to pull everyone together, and convincing them of this group idea.”

In dimension 2, the categories are: digital skills for collaboration with the research team; digital skills for collecting data in the classroom through photo-elicitation; commitment and professional development based on teacher metacognition. The results highlight the challenges that teachers overcame during the research project:

• T12: “Uh, well, uh, it was difficult for me because sometimes, uh, uploading it from the tablet, so I had to, because I used to transfer the photos to another classroom, let's say, at school, I had to transfer them to my computer. From there, upload them to your classroom and so on. That's what was a bit difficult for me, because, for example, my colleague now knew directly from the tablet, she said, "No, upload it from here."

5. Discussion. To discuss the topics covered and the results presented in the application experience, panel attendees are invited to exchange views, knowledge, and similar experiences. The Padlet tool will be used to facilitate participation, in which attendees will share multimedia content synchronously, seeking to propose diverse responses to open-ended questions. Questions are formulated based on the SWOT analysis strategy: What strengths does the photo-elicitation strategy offer for advancing knowledge about PYD? What opportunities can CPR offer to educational practitioners? What threats or challenges can we encounter in applying this methodology in other educational and social contexts? What limitations do CPR and/or Ph-E have for sustainable implementation in research and educational practice?

6. Conclusions. Conclusions will be drawn jointly by attendees and panel facilitators based on the debate generated during the discussion. However, the knowledge obtained so far indicates that CPR is an appropriate methodological framework for guiding Ph-E processes in educational contexts that seek equitable participation and agency among three types of agents involved in multilevel qualitative research: academics, practitioners, and students. As evidenced by the establishment of teaching professional competencies for implementing Ph-E in CPR, teachers play a fundamental and decisive role in successful implementation. However, other elements may hinder its application, such as the lack of a pre-established institutional structure between the field of research and the field of educational practice in some European countries.