The purpose of this study was to use photovoice—a participatory action research methodology that allows participants to leverage the creative medium of photography to capture their ‘lived experience’—among Syrian refugees living in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. The study found that participants (children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 18 years) demonstrated a remarkable number of resilience strategies (88 per cent) at multiple levels (individual, family, school and community). Resilience was demonstrated through their interactions with nature to seek solitude and solace, family connections, school, friends, accomplishments and their broader community. A smaller number of participants spoke of topics related to trauma and loss (12 per cent). The study demonstrates the usefulness and viability of photovoice in capturing the fears, wants and wishes of vulnerable populations as well as strategies employed by them in the face of adversity. As such, it is a potentially powerful tool for empowerment, raising awareness and promoting social change.
This article describes the experience and lessons learned by graduate students and supervising faculty in piloting an action-research project aimed at realizing positive economic and social change by advancing the vision of Boston as a human rights city that was articulated in a city council resolution adopted in 2011. It details the efforts led by the graduate students in their roles as paid outreach coordinators and research assistants to resuscitate the latent social movement that had resulted in the adoption of the Boston Human Rights City resolution. Against the backdrop of the Boston Human Rights City pilot project’s success at inspiring the re-establishment of the long-defunct city-level human rights commission, each of the graduate student leaders shares their reflections on and analysis of their experience of ‘learning by doing’. They detail the challenges they confronted and what key lessons were yielded by their trial and error. The article concludes with a summary of insights that readers (including the human rights commissioners) might find helpful with respect to both transdisciplinary human rights pedagogy in higher education, especially at the graduate level, and development of social movements, particularly in the advancement of the Human Rights Cities movement. The article therefore contributes to ongoing elucidation in the Journal of Human Rights Practice of what makes for effective human rights education—both in academic environments and in society more generally—outside of the prevalent disciplinary focus on law. Through the lens of the authors’ example of the direct, hands-on experience provided to students by the project, the article invites deeper engagement with transdisciplinary experiential learning as human rights education praxis that aims to reach members of local communities outside the classroom by creating a city-level culture of valuing, protecting and promoting economic and social rights.
Preparing youth to become active and independent citizens is a critical goal for all societies. However, youth with disabilities are less likely to achieve the same adult outcomes as their non-disabled peers. Although there is a growing body of research that has identified best practices regarding the facilitation of youth with disabilities from school to an inclusive adult life, many teachers do not have the requisite skills or knowledge to facilitate this process. This chapter explores best practices in transition education for teachers beyond the academic content, identifying eight key strategies that should inform teacher preparation programs. Using a case study from Iran, this chapter critically reflects on the relevance of these strategies in an international context, where inclusion and education of students with disabilities is an emerging field.
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