Examining the Relationships between Visual Arts Course Attainments and Attitudes of High School Students and Their Visual Literacy Levels

Abstract

This research aimed to examine the relationships between secondary school students' Visual Arts course outcomes, their attitudes towards this course, and their visual literacy levels. The research was conducted with 337 students (184 females, 153 males) attending six different high schools in Mersin and Ankara, using the relational screening model. The Visual Literacy Scale, the Visual Arts Course Outcome Scale, and the Visual Arts Course Attitude Scale were used as data collection tools. According to the findings, the students' visual arts achievements were above average (mean 3.72), their attitudes towards the course (mean 3.87) and visual literacy levels (mean 3.80) were found to be high. According to the gender variable, it was found that female students scored significantly higher than male students in both course outcomes and attitudes. While a significant difference was observed in favor of female students in general and in most of the sub-dimensions of visual literacy, male students scored higher only in the dimension of "Ability to Give Importance to Visuality Using Office Software." Correlation analysis revealed a positive and significant relationship between visual literacy and course outcomes and attitudes. The research highlights the central role of visual literacy skills in art education and offers recommendations for enriching curricula accordingly, adopting gender-balanced pedagogical approaches, and using digital tools effectively.