The Visual Journal as a Way to Strengthen Students’ Ability to Self-Reflect - Janja Batič, Natalija Rojc Črnčec and Nina Šulin

Oct 15, 2026

Artistic expression supports students in recognizing their thoughts, emotions, values, and actions, strengthening social-emotional competencies through guided reflection. A case study in the 2023/24 school year examined whether creating a visual journal in the form of an artist’s book can help first-year secondary students develop self-reflection. Students used their own visual journals for real-time reflection on daily wellbeing, consulting the teacher as needed. Data came from journal analysis, a student questionnaire, and a teacher interview.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Art as a Bridge for Self-Reflection and Learning

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Role of Artistic Creation in Self-Awareness

Received: 23 September 2024, Accepted: 15 April 2025 DOI: [https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.1997](https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.1997) The Visual Journal as a Way to Strengthen Students’Ability to Self-Reflect Janja Batič*1, Natalija Rojc Črnčec2 and Nina Šulin3 • Art allows us to look within ourselves, to learn who we are and what interests us. It connects us to our thoughts, our feelings, our perceptions, and our external reality and experiences. Artistic expression enables students to think about themselves and their feelings, take the perspective of another while evaluating their artworks, set goals and organise the course of their creative work. Therefore, it is not difficult to establish a connection between artistic expression and strengthening social emotional competencies. In a study conducted in the 2023/24 school year, a case study explored whether creating a visual journal in the form of an artist’s book can help students recognise their thoughts, emotions and values. In the case study, we included one class of first-year secondary school students, who participated voluntarily, as well as their teacher. We first presented the CASEL model to the students in connection with the artworks of artists whose works deal with topics related to social and emotional competences. The mentor presented the artist’s book in the form of a visual journal as a special artistic form. The students’ task was to think about themselves, their wellbeing, values and actions, and to make real-time reflections on their day with the help of their own visual journal. In their spare time, the students compiled a visual journal over a few weeks, occasionally consulting with the teacher. Data were collected through an analysis of the resulting visual journals, a questionnaire for students and an interview with the teacher. Keywords: artistic expression, secondary school, self-reflection, strengthening social emotional competencies, visual journal 1 *Corresponding Author. Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Slovenia; [janja.batic@um.si](janja.batic@um.si). 2 Prva gimnazija Maribor and II. gimnazija Maribor, Slovenia. 3 Conservatory of Music and Ballet Maribor; Faculty of Education, University of Maribor; and the Artdidakta art school, Maribor, Slovenia. 34 the visual journal as a way to strengthen students’ ability to self-reflect Vizualni dnevnik kot način za krepitev sposobnostisamorefleksije pri dijakih Janja Batič, Natalija Rojc Črnčec in Nina Šulin • Umetnost nam omogoča, da pogledamo vase, spoznamo, kdo smo inkaj nas zanima. Povezuje nas z našimi mislimi, občutki, zaznavami ter z našo zunanjo realnostjo in izkušnjami. Umetniško izražanje omogočadijakom, da razmišljajo o sebi in svojih občutkih, zavzamejo perspektivo drugega pri vrednotenju svojih likovnih del, si postavijo cilje in organizirajo potek svojega ustvarjalnega dela. Zato ni težko prepoznati povezave med likovnim izražanjem in krepitvijo socialno-čustvenih kompetenc. V raziskavi, izvedeni v šolskem letu 2023/24, smo s pomočjo študije primera ugotavljali, ali lahko ustvarjanje vizualnega dnevnika vobliki knjige umetnika pomaga dijakom prepoznati njihove misli, čustva in vrednote. V študijo primera smo vključili en razred dijakov 1. letnika srednje šole, ki so sodelovali prostovoljno, in njihovo učiteljico. Dijakom smo najprej predstavili model CASEL v povezavi z likovnimideli umetnikov, ki se ukvarjajo s temami, povezanimi s socialnimi in čustvenimi kompetencami. Mentorica je kot posebno umetniško obliko predstavila knjigo umetnika v obliki vizualnega dnevnika. Naloga dijakov je bila razmišljati o sebi, svojem počutju, vrednotah in o dejanjih ter s pomočjo lastnega vizualnega dnevnika razmišljati o svojem dnevu. V prostem času so dijaki nekaj tednov sestavljali vizualni dnevnik, občasno pa so se posvetovali z učiteljem. Podatki so bili zbrani z analizonastalih vizualnih dnevnikov, vprašalnikom za učence in z intervjujem zmentorico. Ključne besede:

FAQs

What was the study investigating about the visual journal?

The study investigated whether creating a visual journal in the form of an artist’s book helps students recognize their thoughts, emotions, and values.

How did students use the visual journal during the case study?

Students reflected on their wellbeing, values, and actions using their visual journal, compiling it over a few weeks and occasionally consulting with their teacher.

What sources were used to collect the study data?

Data were collected through analysis of the resulting visual journals, a questionnaire for students, and an interview with the teacher.

Oct 15, 2026

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