Instructional illustrations in children’s learning between normative and realism: An evaluation study

Abstract

Many studies indicate the importance of including the instructional illustrations (pictures, drawings, concrete objects …etc.) in childhood education learning materials and employing them in a way that suits the psychological and cognitive levels of young children. In this context, the current study aimed to develop a list of standards to be considered and adopted in designing instructional illustrations, and to reveal the perceptions of childhood teachers about the extent to which these standards are considered in instructional illustrations used in children’s learning materials. The participants were childhood education teachers in the Jordanian region of Irbid, who were randomly selected. Two hundred thirty-four teachers completed the questionnaire online. The scale consisted of a total of 34 items distributed over four dimensions. The results showed that the scores of teachers’ estimation about employing design standards in the instructional illustrations used in childhood education came at low levels, ranging from average to low, and did not reach high ratings. The study also revealed that there is an impact attributed to teaching experience on teachers’ perceptions about the extent to which these standards are employed in instructional illustrations, while there is no impact of gender, academic qualification, or the classes taught by the teachers.