Visual Literacy: a Definition Problem

In 1969 John Debes coined the expression “visual literacy” and he opened the way for a new research branch. Throughout the years this concept autonomously developed within several disciplines, one of which is represented by the Educational Sciences. This paper aims to critically analyse how a group of studies selected through a systematic review process adopt the concept of visual literacy in educational contexts. More specifically, the goal is to understand (i) which definitions are used in each research work, (ii) what research questions or theoretical issues are addressed among the selected studies, and (iii) if they are present, interesting methodologies to investigate those questions. Results show a lack of shared definitions of the concept and the necessity of building an interdisciplinary dialogue that deeply analyses the educational potentials and related competences of visual literacy in school and non-school contexts.