Guided by Great Feelings of Love: Using Photovoice and Critical Pedagogy to Document the Life Experiences of Undocumented Latino/a Students in Higher Education

Abstract

Undocumented students have fought for the ability to attend institutions of higher education, but research has often overlooked their experiences outside of the classroom. Weaving together Freirean critical pedagogy and photovoice to create a type of advocacy participatory action research, this project followed eight undocumented Latina/o undergraduates at a Research I institution over the course of one academic year. Using critical pedagogy, the participants and I co-created a class in which we explored the intersections of race, class, educational access, and citizenship. By using critical pedagogical methods the students in the project were able to dictate the direction of both the class and the research itself. During this time the participants also used photovoice to create photo diaries of their lives, exploring what it means to be undocumented college students. They determined that while research had been conducted concerning undocumented students in higher education, their particular experiences as undocumented persons had not been fully captured. As such, this project sheds valuable light on the ways in which being undocumented affected these students' personal relationships with family, friends, and lovers.