Understanding Images: educating the viewer

Abstract Given the growing importance of the visual media in society and in education, relatively little attention has been devoted to educating the viewer. Recent studies suggest this is an important area, and successful programmes of television literacy have demonstrated that it is possible to enhance the comprehension of viewers. Extending this work into the understanding of images (visual literacy), the following study outlines a new course developed and tested on 12‐ and 13‐year‐old pupils that showed highly significant gains in their understanding of a range of images. The implications of this research for television literacy and our understanding of how people respond to images is evaluated, and further research based on this project is suggested.