How visual literacy motivates proficiency in integrated production skills among senior three learners: a case of Kampala district

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine how proficiency in Integrated Production Skills (IPS) is motivated by the development of Visual Literacy (VL) among learners of senior three in Ugandan secondary schools. The study specifically presents three concerns which include: to examine the teachers’ level of understanding of the IPS subject content, to determine how senior three learners develop VL when studying IPS and to find out the instructional practices employed by IPS teachers to develop VL skills among senior three learners. The study adopted mainly a qualitative research approach and therefore took an interpretivist paradigm which prompted a descriptive case study design. The main epistemological supposition was drawn from Dewey’s theory of aesthetics and Dual Coding Theory (DCT) viewpoints which anchor on the assumption that with increasing knowledge, skills and experiences from the visual past or during IPS instruction, propels learners to engage more broadly and deeply into their own personal pursuit for proficiency in the subject matter. Data was collected purposively from four selected secondary schools from Kampala district the capital city of Uganda. Thirty-two (32) learners and five (5) teachers of IPS contributed to the study. The findings reveal that the in-service teachers have had inadequate training in regards to the subject matter besides lacking pedagogical knowledge and skills to appropriately integrate VL in the teaching styles. It was also discovered that most teachers largely dominated classroom instruction, with minimal learners’ participation. The teachers discussed, explained, illustrated and demonstrated which compromised opportunities for learners’ development of VL. This was attributed to the subject syllabus being too overloaded to be complete within the prescribed time. Therefore, despite the efforts by the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), for consistent reforms which have seen Art and Craft undergo various evolutions to adhere to the demands of the ‘digital natives’ the study recommends for consistent use of visual media as a key player in IPS instruction for deeper and life-long learning. In this case, guidance in the area of VL during instruction is warranted. The study recommends prioritizing VL development during pedagogical training of pre-service teachers as well as updating in-service teachers (‘digital migrants’) synchronized with relaxing the overloaded IPS subject matter