Visuals by children

The purpose of this report is to share the way in which visuals have been used in a range of development and education projects, and to try and understand some of the benefits and difficulties of using a range of visual techniques. The report concentrates on visuals created by children within the projects visited during the 20 day study. It focuses on the use of visuals for analysing and learning as well as in terms of educational and research projects which enable children to influence adult decision makers. It shares these experiences of the use of visuals within the context of participatory appraisal, and shows how the original focus on the visual diagrams of PRA was broadened out to include role play, theatre, photography and games. The report includes discussions of these techniques and how they compare to, and are used with, non-visual forms of communication. It also evaluates methods with regard to their impacts on the development of learning and life skills, from the perspective of adult and child facilitators and child participants, and draws up a series of conclusions and recommendations.