Understanding corruption through freehand drawings: a case study of undergraduate business students’ visual learning in the classroom

Interest in the role of visual literacy within education has grown
significantly over the last 50 years. Many scholars maintain that
living in an image-rich culture in the twenty-first century requires
preparing visually literate graduates who are capable of a critical
reading and understanding of visual texts, as well as constructing
images through critical thinking. However, nowadays, discussion
about visual learning and development of visual literacy competencies
of students studying business and management remains
quite limited. This paper presents a case study of a visual learning
activity introduced to 1st year undergraduate students which are
often referred to as ‘digital natives’. This activity aims to develop
students’ visual critical thinking about a complex social phenomenon
of corruption through their engagement with a non-digital
activity such as freehand drawing.