Visual imagery, lifecourse structure and lifelong learning

Abstract

Imagery could add an extra dimension to analyses of lifelong learning, which need to draw on diverse sources and techniques. This article has two principal components. First I suggest that the use of images might be divided into three categories: as illustration; as evidence; and as heuristic. I go on to explore the latter two categories, first by discussing Philippe Aries'use of pictorial evidence to explore how children were not differentiated from adult life and learning in mediaeval times, and second by presenting five images which in my view open up fresh lines of thinking about adult learning. These include historical images of the lifecourse as a whole, and contemporary pictures such as those by Norma Rockwell and Frida Kahlo, which can enhance our analyses of age and period effects.

Keywords:

• imagery
• lifecourse
• lifelong learning
• visual analysis
• metaphor
• triangulation