ERIC Number: EJ1351932
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Dec
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0042-0972
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1960
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Visual Microaggressions in Teacher Education
Miller, Kyle; Hunt, Carolyn
Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education, v54 n5 p674-702 Dec 2022
As the world becomes more digitized, visual content becomes commonplace in educational spaces. However, visual choices are not always accompanied with critical thought or awareness of the harmful messages or stereotypes connected to the images. The purpose of this study was to examine visual microaggressions embedded in the visual content of website projects created by preservice teachers (PSTs) for an education course. We qualitatively analyzed the images that PSTs (N = 97) included in a social issues website assignment and their written reflections on the images they incorporated. Additionally, six PSTs participated in focus group sessions where they reflected on images used across websites. A qualitative analysis of data led to the identification of visual microaggressions and deficit-thinking about children and families. Visual data portrayed children's home lives as unsafe and unhappy, showed teaching as a white profession, endorsed white saviorism, and reinforced negative stereotypes about poverty. Focus group conversations led to critical visual literacy for some visual microaggressions, while individual reflections did not. Although PSTs in this study unintentionally enacted visual microaggressions in their projects, selected images can still cause harm. Implications for teacher education and schools are discussed.
Descriptors: Visual Literacy, Aggression, Preservice Teacher Education, Visual Aids, Web Sites, Imagery, Protocol Analysis, Racism, Teaching (Occupation), Stereotypes, Critical Literacy, Poverty, Whites
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A