Pictorial analysis in research on education: method and concepts

Abstract

Pictures are rarely used as the principal research material in research on the teaching profession. This article presents the central analytical concepts and method development of such a study. The research material consisted of pictures that art student teachers created from a given theme: Who are you as a teacher? The theoretical frame combines gender theory and sociocultural theory with pictorial semiotics and discourse analysis. The central concepts are exemplified by pictures created by student teachers. The article concludes with a comparative pictorial analysis and interpretation. The research focused on gender issues, associated manly with bodily representation and reflexivity. The aim of the article is to present the method and its relevance for research in education and other disciplines.

Keywords:

• pictorial analysis
• research method
• art teacher education
• gender studies

Notes

1. An adequate remark since the picture was an assignment that the course leader (the present writer) had formulated and that was to be assessed and marked, and hence constituted the basic motivation for creating the picture in the first place.