Cook 1977b

Cook, Bruce L. 1977b. "Understanding pictures in Papua New Guinea 1." READ: Promoting Literacy and Literature. Interest level: specialist.

Looks at guidelines for art in Papua New Guinea as a result of testing considering

• age
• sex
• occupation, and
• duration of Western contact.

Compares responses to five styles of art:

• Stick figures
• Faceless drawings
• Detailed black and white drawings
• Detailed drawings with watercolor
• Photographs

Checks for

• understanding
• recognition
• sequence
• spatial understanding
• story completion, and
• memory.

Discusses literacy materials featuring national artists or literacy educators. Considers whether local art is more effective, or whether ready-made art is appropriate. Makes a valid point that even local artists tend to lose their "localness" when they seek training from outside sources. David C. Cook Foundation did study to see how well its own illustrations were understood by both preliterate and literate people of Papua New Guinea.

Would have been good to include national art in the testing and to give examples of art used for testing.

• Bibliography module: Cook 1977b
• In overview module: Bibliography (Literacy): C
• In modular book: Bibliography (Literacy), by Doris Gallemore, Trudi C. Hunt, Jeanne Swanson, and Stephen L. Walter
• In document collection: Reference materials
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 May 1999

© 1999 SIL International