Teachers’ Views on the Use of Photography in Teaching Arts in Croatian Primary Schools

Oct 15, 2026

Study examines Croatian primary art teachers’ perspectives on using photography as a teaching medium. The research targets teachers’ knowledge about photography, their ability to apply photography in art lessons, perceived obstacles, and the importance of photography for students’ visual culture. Survey data from 112 teachers covering grades 5 to 8 across 17 Croatian counties combine descriptive statistics with qualitative analysis of open responses. Findings indicate average knowledge from formal education, slightly stronger perceived teaching ability, and identify low lesson time in the curriculum as a main barrier. Overall, teachers value photography for visual culture regardless of gender, age, or service length.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Study objectives and survey design

Teachers’ perceptions and key findings

Importance of photography for students’ visual culture

doi: 10.26529/cepsj.909 Teachers’ Views on the Use of Photography in Teaching Arts in Croatian Primary Schools Nina Licul1 • Contemporary art education relies on the use of diverse methods, approaches, art techniques, and technologies. Although photography is part of daily visual communication and gallery exhibitions, there is no structured approach to photography as a medium for learning the arts in Croatian primary schools. The objectives ofthe quantitative study were to determine art teachers’ views on (1) their knowledge about photography,(2) their abilities in using photography in art teaching, (3) obstacles to using photography in art teaching, and (4) the importance of photography in students’ visual culture. Regarding the fourth objective, we wanted to examine possible differences in terms of the teachers’ gender, age, and length of service. A survey was conducted with 112 teachers who teach arts in 5th to 8th grades in 17 Croatian counties. The results of the descriptive statistics were supplemented with a qualitative analysis of the teachers’ responses in the questionnaire. The results show that the teachers perceive their knowledge about photography obtained by formal education as average, but they assess their abilities to apply photography in their lessons as slightly better. The main problem, in their view, is a low number of art lessons in the Croatian curriculum. The teachers generally agree that photography is very important in a student’s visual culture, regardless of the teachers’ gender, age. and years of service. These findings indicate the need to place greater emphasis on photography as an artistic medium in primary school, as it may generate new visual knowledge and artistic skills. Keywords: art education, art teachers, photography, visual communication 1 University of Rijeka, Academy of Applied Arts, Croatia; [nina.licul@uniri.hr](nina.licul@uniri.hr). 188 teachers’ views on the use of photography in teaching arts in croatian primary Pogledi učiteljev na uporabo fotografije pri poučevanjulikovne vzgoje v hrvaških osnovnih šolah Nina Licul • Sodobna likovna vzgoja temelji na uporabi različnih metod, pristopov, likovnih tehnik in tehnologij. Čeprav je fotografija del vsakodnevnevizualne komunikacije in razstav v galerijah, v hrvaških osnovnih šolah ni strukturiranega pristopa do fotografije kot medija za poučevanje o likovni umetnosti. Cilji kvantitativne raziskave so se nanašali napoglede učiteljev likovne vzgoje glede 1) njihovega znanja o fotografiji; 2) sposobnosti uporabe fotografije pri poučevanju; 3) ovir pri uporabi fotografije pri poučevanju; 4) pomena fotografije pri učencih. Izvedena je bila raziskava med 112 učitelji, ki poučujejo likovno vzgojo od 5. do 8. razreda v 17 hrvaških okrajih. Izsledki analize opisne statistike sobili dopolnjeni s kvalitativno analizo odgovorov učiteljev v vprašalniku. Rezultati kažejo, da učitelji svoje znanje o fotografiji, pridobljeno s formalnim izobraževanjem, dojemajo kot povprečje, vendar sposobnostiuporabe fotografije pri pouku ocenjujejo kot nekoliko boljše. Po njihovem mnenju je glavni problem majhno število učnih ur likovne vzgoje vhrvaškem učnem načrtu. Učitelji se na splošno strinjajo, da je fotografijazelo pomembna v učenčevem dojemanju vizualnega sveta, ne glede naspol, starost in delovno dobo. Te ugotovitve kažejo na potrebo po večjem poudarku fotografije kot umetniškega medija v osnovni šoli, saj lahko ta ustvari novo vizualno znanje in likovne veščine. Ključne besede: likovna vzgoja, likovni pedagogi, fotografija, vizualna komunikacija Introduction It is difficult to imagine life without photography. Photography permeates all aspects of human activity – it is a communication, documentary, scientific, mimetic (Sontag, 2005), aesthetic, creative, and artistic medium. Photographers influence the consciousness of individuals (Bedi & Varga, 2018), provide evidence of time and space (Peraica, 2010), and shape our ideas (Fr

FAQs

What were the study’s main objectives about photography use in art teaching?

The study assessed teachers’ views on their photography knowledge, their abilities to use photography in art lessons, obstacles to using it, and its importance for students’ visual culture.

How was the research conducted and who participated?

A survey involved 112 arts teachers teaching grades 5 to 8 in 17 Croatian counties, with results supported by descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis of questionnaire responses.

What is identified as the main problem limiting photography in Croatian art teaching?

Teachers point to the low number of art lessons in the Croatian curriculum as the main obstacle.

Oct 15, 2026

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