Policy and Practice: A Development Education Review (Oct 2016)
The Visual Representation of Global Development Issues in a Higher Education Environment: Perception, Interpretation and Replication
Abstract
What kinds of perspectives of global development issues are students exposed to through the visual imagery displayed in higher education institutes? This study explores the messages being communicated by these images and how they are interpreted by students and staff of a higher education institute in the Republic of Ireland. Following an overview of the theoretical literature, original fieldwork is presented, in which interviewees were invited to respond to visual representations of global development issues on display in the institute. The study looks at how these visual messages contribute to viewers’ perceptions of people from the wider world, particularly those who are vulnerable or living in poverty. It examines how students (and their educators) negotiate these messages and the ideological perspectives they represent, and the implications for their subsequent work environment and practice.
