Not just a pretty picture: visual literacy education through art for young children

Purpose (mandatory): This study aims to understand young children’s knowledge of visual literacy elements as well as their ability to comprehend newly introduced visual literacy concepts. The study also examined existing support for visual literacy programs from parents and educators. Design/methodology/approach (mandatory): The study explored the knowledge of basic visual literacy elements of young children enrolled in two private schools in the New York City metropolitan area. The authors interviewed seventeen children, aged four to six years old, about fine art paintings using a semistructured interview format. Their responses were qualitatively analyzed to determine their initial level of visual literacy and their ability to learn and retain the concepts of visual literacy after receiving basic instruction. The children’s educators and parents completed online questionnaires that were quantitatively analyzed to determine their level of support for visual literacy programs. Findings (mandatory): The findings show that young children exhibited extensive knowledge of simple visual literacy elements (color, shape, line), and limited understanding of more abstract elements (perspective and salience). Children’s knowledge of visual elements improved after instruction. Parents and educators expressed support for incorporating visual literacy instruction in early childhood education. Research limitations/implications (if applicable): The study relied on a sample of children and adults drawn from two private schools. Sample’s demographics might have affected study findings. More work is needed using a larger and more diverse sample. Practical implications (if applicable): The study suggests that young children are ready to receive instruction on visual literacy elements using art images. Children reacted positively to the images and were engaged in the discussions about them, supporting the use of fine art paintings as an instrument to introduce visual literacy concepts to young children. Survey of children’s parents and teachers indicate strong interest in, and support for such programs. Social implications (if applicable): With the increase of visual information production and consumption, it is important to introduce visual literacy early in life. The study advances research in methods for developing visual literacy instruction for young children. Originality/value (mandatory): No previous study examined pre-kindergarten children’s knowledge of basic visual literacy elements and reactions to visual literacy instruction. Introduction Contemporary culture is increasingly relying on visual communication offered through “the visually rich Web, photo dependent social networks, video saturated media, and graphically sophisticated entertainment and gaming” (Metros, 2008, p. 102). At a time when young people spend more time with image-based media than ever before (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010), it is important to teach them to interpret and create visual messages early in life (National Art Education Association, 2016; National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2016; Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2016). Visual literacy is typically defined as the ability to evaluate, analyze, and interpret an image’s compositional elements and cultural meanings (ACRL, 2011; Callow, 2008; Rice, 1989; Alper, 1996; O’Neil, 2011; Beatty, 2013; Gardner, 1970; Brill, Branch, Kim, 2007) and is often viewed as a significant component of general literacy (Rice, 1988; Edwards and Willis, 2000). While a number of initiatives have been developed to introduce visual literacy to older children (ages 7 and up) (Metros, 2008; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016; Wilson and Martinez, 2012), educational programs for younger children ages 4-6 are lacking (Luehrman and Unrath, 2006). In order to understand internal and external factors influencing young children’s readiness to engage with visual literacy instruction, our study examined: a) children’s background knowledge of visual literacy elements, b) children’s abilities to comprehend visual literacy instruction, and c) the level of support for visual literacy programs from parents and educators. The study intended to lay a groundwork for educators, information curators, technology developers, parents, and other stakeholders involved in the development of literacy programs for very young children.