Towards a grounded theory of critical viewing

This thesis is a report on a study in viewing which details the construction of a grounded theory about ‘a pedagogy for critical viewing’. For this to happen a framework of visual language was developed for critical viewing and was provided to the participating teachers and students in the study. The visual framework was then applied to classes selected from the middle years of schooling. This involved an investigation into the implementation of the framework of visual language for the purposes of critical viewing. This then provided the data for constructing ‘a pedagogy for critical viewing’ that has been grounded in the viewing practices of Year 5-8 classrooms. The grounded theory focused on the conditions necessary for critical viewing to take place. These were the knowledges and experiences in critical viewing the students needed to have in order to view visual texts analytically and critically.