Authors: Shane McDonald, Mary-Anne Wallwork & Lauren Terzis
Griffith University, Australia

Edition: Volume 65, Number 3, Special Edition, November 2025

Introduction: Critical thinking and reflection are core components of all Australian university social work programs and are key skills for both students and graduates in conceptualising practice/field knowledge. This paper aims to explore the challenges international students face with critical thinking and reflection, and how the use of creative strategies can enhance engagement. At Griffith University in Australia, a placement hub has been developed to support international students on placement. As part of the evaluation of the program, students were asked to take a photo that represented their placement learning experience within the hub program. Photovoice, a qualitative research method, was used as a creative approach to gauging student perceptions of their placement learning and experience during the placement hub. 15 of the 20 hub students took photos and participated in an end of program evaluation, sharing feedback about their key learnings with student colleagues and practice educators. Our findings demonstrate that using the creative photovoice approach was vastly different to the traditional written style evaluations that normally are used to review outcomes and allowed for deeper insights into the students understanding of practice. We encourage educators to consider the utility of photovoice, as it can provide a creative medium for adult learners to engage in critical reflection to support their learning and development as emerging professionals, which is different from the traditional academic way of engaging in critical reflection.

Keywords: adult education and creativity, critical thinking, field education, international students, photovoice, social work

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 65:3 The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.