Conceptions of visual literacy in school-age education: a systematic review

Journal article

This systematic review examined conceptions of visual literacy in school-age education (ages 4–18). Drawing on 34 empirical studies across 21 countries, it found that while empirical studies reflect current research and highlight emerging frameworks; the application and assessment of visual literacy within school-age education remain conceptually fragmented. The review maps these differences across three overlapping strands: 1) visual literacy as interpretation/understanding of visuals, 2) visual literacy as creation/communication through visuals, and 3) visual literacy as critical practice (e.g., critique of visual culture, power, ideology). By applying this analysis, we suggest that visual literacy in this context is yet to become a unified construct. Instead, it functions on multiple levels, is highly context dependent, and is shaped by educational phases, subject disciplines, and epistemological traditions. These differences include diversity of application, methodological variation and a lack of a widely adopted theoretically comprehensive, developmentally sequenced, and cross-contextually validated measure of visual literacy for school-age learners. Future research that understands these complexities and limitations is therefore required to advance the critical development of visual literacy within school-age education.

Authors: Procter-Legg, T; Klassen, RM; Snell, RJS; Stevenson, N; Thompson, I

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Journal: Journal of Visual Literacy
• Acceptance date: 2026-05-22
• DOI: 10.1080/1051144X.2026.2680316
• EISSN: 2379-6529
• ISSN: 1051-144X
• Language: English
• Keywords: visual literacy; education; schools; teaching and learning; multi-literacies; visual cognition; art and design