THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT: WHAT THE POLICIES INTENDE

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What is the power of images in an image-saturated era?

Persuasive power

The persuasive quality of images has been historically exploited to expose particular viewpoints of reality, rather than transparent observations, because they always portray meaning (Leavy, 2009; Sturken & Cartwright, 2009). Leavy (2009) explains that the persuasive power of images, via art works, advertisements, photographs, and digital manipulations, relies on their descriptive and evocative power which has been used to promote beliefs. This author argues that the evocative power of images lies in the fact that they are profoundly rooted in an individual’s memory; that images can remain and recall emotions, thus are used as vehicles to influence. This issue is ever more dominant in current times where the visual saturates everyday lives (Gitlin, 2002). Sturken and Cartwright’s (2009) view is that while images have been historically manipulated to communicate meaning this has been exacerbated through new and varied forms of media. For them, a problem arises because despite the technological advances to manipulate an image photographs are mainly perceived as objective representations of reality. This idea is based on the fact that there are mechanical procedures involved in making photographs. However, there are also interlinked subjective decisions through the whole process of creating images (Leavy, 2009; Sontag, 2003).
Although photographs have enormous power to describe realities, images are mediated social creations which can promote any kind of beliefs (Emmison & Smith, 2000). Duncum (2002) argues that the visual has been used in current times to support a culture of consumerism and individualistic desires. Thus, democracy is threatened by a purchasing rationale and a visual phenomenon that portrays information for economic interests. This, Duncum states, is the opposite purpose of visual arts education which aims to use the visual to form critical citizens with a sense of community.
Freedman (2003) suggests that another significant reason to encourage thinking around images is based on the implications that the visual has on ‘identity’. This is especially important in an imagesaturated era in which images have the power to influence viewers in ways that they might not note.
Grushka (2005) reinforces this impression, stating that the creation of identity is influenced by visual codes transmitted by mass media. The problem with these symbols, she states, is that they are moved by purchasing values and are socially spread by selling the image of youth, thus have the potential to affect teenagers. However, the idea of a viewer being completely persuaded by the image’s discourse should not be overemphasised because the observer also has the power to critically interpret images and become involved in a negotiation process (Sturken & Cartwright, 2009).
This suggests that to produce an effective mediation from the viewer, education should foster critical skills around the visual.

High resonance: The audience becomes a global village

The importance of images lies in their influencing power and their high resonance on audience’s emotions, which enables their potential to generate an extraordinary impact on population (Leavy, 2009; Sturken & Cartwright, 2009). Sturken and Cartwright (2009) argue that “reproduction allows images to circulate with political meaning… which has increased the ability of images to captivate and persuade” (p. 199). Gitlin (2002) argues that today contact with the visual is exaggeratedly repetitive.
Consequently, ideas embraced by mass media images bombard the sight affirming current beliefs,
but also announcing social transformations. Sturken and Cartwright (2009) assert that the simultaneous reproduction and diffusion of images by new media in diverse parts of the world has increased the impact of images on society. The value of these images lies in the immediacy with which they are reproduced and transmitted worldwide. As example, Kellner (2006) explains that the shocking images of 9/11 which circulated globally, revealing a ‘spectacle of horror’ against the twin towers, later served to support a political plan to deliberately attack Iraq. Although images have been used before to sensationalize issues and promote political aims, the ‘9/11 show’ had an impact never seen before because of the visual excess of the action and the current power of media to spread those images.
This phenomenon promoted the sensation of a global village linked by the experience of looking (Mitchell, 2011). Sontag (2003) believes that the impact of these shocking images is how they could serve as a ‘catchphrase’ (more effective than words) to keep people thinking around an issue and to create ideologies. Mitchell (2011) argues that any story has two versions; one that is linked to what occurred and the other to the way the story was told. The importance of the visual, in light of what has been mentioned, is that it gives audiences a worldwide sense of being simultaneously connected by images to an event that belongs to a global and immediate reality.

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How can the visual be used to develop critical thinking in visual arts education?

As explained in Chapter 3, The New Zealand Curriculum (MoE, 2007) identifies ‘thinking’ as one of its five ‘Key Competencies’. It states that “Thinking is about using creative, critical, and metacognitive processes to make sense of information, experiences and ideas” (p. 12). In the Visual Arts section of the curriculum there is emphasis on students developing “visual literacy and aesthetic awareness…” (p. 21). Art education theorists support the development of these competencies and literacies. They recommend that in order to foster analytical skills through images, visual arts education should be arranged around thinking, rather than merely focusing on formal art making skills (Duncum, 2010; Eisner, 2002; Freedman, 2003; Gude, 2007). In their view, the inclusion of visual literacy, and a critical inquiry framework around images that expose diverse issues, can underpin meaningful art making in visual arts education (Charman & Ross, 2006; Duncum, 2010; Freedman, 2003; Gude, 2007; Hickman & Eglinton, 2009; Hogan 2006).

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION: HOW THE RESEARCH WAS FRAMED
1.1 A personal perspective: Visual arts education in Chile
1.2 The motivation for the research: From Chile to New Zealand
1.3 The aim of the research: Possibilities for Chile
1.4 The significance of the research
Chapter 2: A VISUAL CONTEXT FOR THE RESEARCH: WHAT THE LITERATURE REVEALED
2.1 Introduction: Developing critical thinking skills through images
2.2 Why is the development of critical thinking skills important?
2.3 What are critical thinking skills?
2.4 How are critical thinking skills developed?
2.5 Why are images a useful tool for developing critical thinking?
2.6 What is the power of images in an image-saturated era?
2.7 How can the visual be used to develop critical thinking in visual arts education?
2.8 Summary
Chapter 3: THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT: WHAT THE POLICIES INTENDE
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The New Zealand Curriculum
3.3 National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA)
3.4 Summary
Chapter 4: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS: HOW THE RESEARCH PLAYED OUT
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The theoretical framework for the research
4.4 The methodology and methods
4.5 Validity, reliability and ethical considerations
4.6 Data analysis strategies
4.7 Limitations of the study .
4.8 Summary .
Chapter 5: THE FINDINGS FROM THE RESEARCH
5.1 Introduction
5.2 School A: A mid-decile large co-educational multicultural school
Interview with visual arts teacher Yolande: Modelling the idea of being curious
5.3 School B: The high-decile single-sex girls’ school.
5.4 Summary
Chapter 6: EVALUATION AND CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES