“We Like Going to School”: A PhotoVoice Exploration of Education from the Perspective of Children from Socially Disadvantaged Backgrounds

Abstract Introduction: Children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds encounter many obstacles from the very beginning of their school attendance. These challenges affect their experience of school and, consequently, their future educational careers. Methods: A combination of the participatory visual method PhotoVoice and interviews was used to explore this group of children’s views on school and education. Twenty-two children in primary education participated in the study. Results: The children who participated in our research perceive school and education positively. School is not only a place for learning but also a place full of opportunities to learn something new, experience success, and receive support. Discussion: It is essential to look at key issues in education from the perspective of children. Creating such opportunities has the potential to lead to social change. Limitations: The main limitation is the small research sample of children attending one school. Conclusions: The role of schools is to find ways to compensate for inequalities in the educational environment faced by children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The PhotoVoice method has great potential in research focused on this target group.