Visual Representations in Secondary School Textbooks of Economics

International Conference on Applied Economics – ICOAE 2008 321
Visual Representations in Secondary School Textbooks of Economics
Demetra Fotakopoulou 1 & Vasiliki Spiliotopoulou 2
Abstract
Our research is concerned with the visual representations found in textbooks used for the teaching of Economics in Greek secondary schools. Initially, we
analyze and reflect upon the visual interpretations of the textbook that is taught in the first year of upper Secondary education (Greek Lyceum). A scheme
of categories of visual representations has been identified and reveals the characteristics of the textbooks’ representations as well as their limitations. We
also explore students’ experiences with two visual representations of this textbook. Evidence, regarding the features of these visual representations that
attract students’ attention, which emerges from the answers that students provide, is discussed. Students seem to face serious difficulties in reading the
meaning of the visual representations, even when the information is there. It seems that it is difficult for an image on its own to express a thousand words.
This issue is related to both authors who write the textbooks and teachers who are teaching their scientific content.
Key Words: Visual representations of economics, Economics Education, School textbooks of Economics
JEL codes: A210
1. Introduction
The subject of economics has been a part of the Greek higher general secondary school curriculum for around 20 years. It aims to
offer a general awareness of the economic ideas and their meaning for the personal and social life. The teaching and learning of
economics, however, in Greece has not attracted attention and takes place in a rather personal and lonely way, as the field of economics
education has not been developed yet. On the other hand societal needs require economically literate citizens and such a perspective
raises issues concerning the way economics is taught rather as a path to scientific certainty, than as reflecting unsettled debate and
vigorous controversy (Editorial Introduction of Australasian Journal of Economics Education).
Secondary school teaching and learning is dominated by textbook-oriented approaches (Tobin, 1990) and this is also the case in
Greece. The subject of economics is mainly taught in a traditional manner, just as any other subject, based mainly on textbooks.
Curriculum materials play an important role in students’ learning. Pyne (2007) found that the introductory microeconomics textbook of
an economic course had significant and sizeable effects on student performance. In a study by Asano (2006) it was found that first-year
students showed confusion in applying marginal analysis to a firm’s profit maximization problem, which stemmed from textbooks for the
introductory microeconomics course oversimplifying the relevant subtle points.
Efforts have begun to develop an adequately valid and reliable procedure in order to judge whether or how well, curriculum materials
match specific learning goals (AAAS – Project 2061, 2006). The content of the curriculum and subsequently textbooks’ content has
mainly been the focus of different studies (Dittmer, 2005). Although visual representations (VR) in textbooks are important teaching and
learning tools only recently have attracted research attention. The focus of this study is the visual representations involved in a secondary
school textbook of economics and the students’ readings for two of them.
1.1. Rationale
In many disciplines, ideas are expressed in the form of drawings, diagrams, charts and graphs. These visual representations can vary
from quick informal sketches to carefully considered formal renderings. Whatever their origin and form, such graphic artefacts help
people to think about their ideas and to communicate those ideas to others. Visual representations are also essential in communicating
ideas in classrooms; however, the design of such representations is not always beneficial for learners. Such considerations have been
investigated placing emphasis not only on the cognitive architecture, but to individual differences and prior knowledge (Cook, 2006).
The co-deployment of written language and visual representations is especially important for textbooks which aim to lead non-expert
readers to an understanding of the esoteric domain of a scientific field. Regarding science textbooks, Koulaidis & Dimopoulos (2005/06)
suggest that they “should ideally be authored in such a way so as to privilege converging and intentional interpretations on the part of the
learners while discouraging divergent and unintentional readings”.
Vision is central to our biological and socio-cultural being. The faculty of vision is our most important source of information about
the world (Adams & Victor, 1993). As for the socio-cultural aspect, it is almost a commonplace to state that we live in a world where
information is transmitted mostly in visual wrappings, and technologies support and encourage communication which is essentially
visual. Therefore, as biological and as socio-cultural beings, we are encouraged and aspire to ‘see’ not only what comes ‘within site’, but
also what we are unable to see (Arcavi, 2003). Thus one way of characterizing visualization and its importance, both as a ‘noun’ – the
product, the visual image – and as a ‘verb’ – the process, the activity (Bishop, 1989), is that visualization offers a method of seeing the
unseen. Taking into account that most of the entities and functions in the subject of economics are abstract and not possible to be seen,
the visual representations can play a central role in the teaching and learning of economics, as visualization is no longer related to
illustrative purposes only. It is also being recognized as a key component of reasoning (deeply engaging with the conceptual and not the
merely perceptual), problem solving and even predicting. There are so many issues concerning visualization in economics education
which require careful attention. In this study, we focus on visual representations used in higher secondary classrooms. Visualization, as
both the product and the process of creation, interpretation and reflection upon pictures and images, is considered to be here very
important, as although we deal with economical factors every day, the process of understanding economical ideas in a more abstract and
scientific way is a demanding task. More particularly, our research questions are:
• What kind of visual representations (VR) are commonly used to portray ideas of economics in the school textbook of the first
year of Lyceum?
1
Teacher of Economics, General Department of Education, School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (A.S.PE.T.E.) – Division of Patras,
Achaikis Sympoliteias 20, Zavlani, 26442, Patras, Greece, email:
2
Professor of Science and Technology Education, General Department of Education, School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (A.S.PE.T.E.) –
Division of Patras, Achaikis Sympoliteias 20, Zavlani, 26442, Patras, Greece, email: spiliot@otenet.gr

322
• Whaat
choices do auuthors
make in selecting or connstructing
these e images?
• Whaat
is students’ reeading
of these two representaations
and what do they show tto
us?
2. Methodoology
The study involves two p
title of the boook
is ‘Principl
fourth grade oof
secondary sc
focused on stuudents’
experien
not followed bby
analytical lab
The first rrepresentation
national accouunts’.
The VR h
lines, at the topp
left, stand the
The seconnd
representation
It has the folloowing
heading:
top, is followeed
by the terms
last one. The ffirst
includes, a
the month Octtober,
is also in
where advertissing
campaign i
The researrch
tool consiste
first question asked students
set of questionns,
students ha
question.
58 studentts
of the 4
tasks. All stud
had also been
th , 5 th
phases. In the fiirst
we analyzed
the visual rep presentations off
a secondary scchool
textbook of economics. The
es of Economiics’
(Dedousopoulos,
Gialeris,
Shistou, Tenttes
& Chatziandreou,
2002) and a is taught inn
the
chools that meeans
the first yeear
of upper se econdary schoool,
the Greek LLyceum.
In the second phase, , we
nces with two oof
these visual rrepresentations
(Figure 1 and 2). Both repressentations
were coloured and wwere
bels.
(Figure 1) is innvolved
in the text of a unit with subtitle ‘NNational
produuct’
under the title t ‘The levells
of
had the followinng
heading: ‘Thhe
growth rate of o Gross Nationnal
Product of GGreece-EEC’.
The T signs of the two
e first one for GGreece
and the ssecond
one for EEC. E
n (Figure 2) is iinvolved
in the text of a small unit with the tiitle
‘The meanss
for the satisfac ction of our neeeds’.
‘Advertising eexpenses
of Octtober
(1997-199 98)’. In each instance
of the VVR,
the sign of the t rectangle, att
the
‘TELEVISIONN’
in the first, ‘ ‘MAGAZINES S’ in the secondd,
‘JOURNALSS’
in the third an nd ‘RADIO’ inn
the
lso, the word inn
italics ‘Percenntage
%’, while e in the diaries of all four instaances
the abbreviation
‘OCT.’ , for
nvolved. It seemms
that the authhors
aimed to relate r it to the ‘ Goods’ for the consumption and a for the growwth,
is allocated.
ed of two pagess,
each one of wwhich
involved a visual representation
and a nnumber
of relev vant questions. The
to describe thee
content of eacch
VR and wha at they thought each representaation
aims to sh how. In the seccond
ad to read inforrmation
that waas
involved in the VR. In thiis
work we anaalyze
systematically
only the first
h th
and 6 grade that means thee
three years of f Greek Lyceumm
worked aboutt
a school sessi ion working onn
the
dents have beenn
taught the conntent
of the bookk.
The research h took place in AApril
and so stuudents
of the first
year of Lyceum
taught the unitss
with the VR aand
a considerabble
time had pa assed since thenn.
Figure 1: VR of the growwth
rate of G.NN.P.
of Greecee-EEC
For thee
analysis in bboth
phases we employed the approach of in nductive categoory
developmeent
of qualitativ ve content anallysis
(Mayring, 20000).
In this apprroach,
it is of ceentral
interest too
develop the as spects of interppretation,
the caategories,
as nea ar as possible too
the
material, to foormulate
them in terms of thee
content of the
material under
analysis. Ouur
unit of analyysis,
namely, th he fragment thaat
is
categorized eaach
time, is eacch
visual repressentation
with tthe
accompany ying label in rellation
also to thhe
relevant text t in the first phhase,
while in the seecond
is each paart
of a student’ ’s answer that sshows
a dimens sion of his experience.
Figure 2: VR of the advertising
expenses oof
October (19997-1998)
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The produuced
categorizattions,
in the forrm
of systemic nnetworks
(Bliss s et al, 1983), wwere
validated bby
three researc chers, of whom two
were economists,
teachers in secondary schoool
and one wass
a science educ cator.
3. Analysiss
3.1. Phase 1: Visual reepresentatioons
of schoool
textbook
3.1.1. The caategorisationn
Initially thhe
number of VVR
has been coounted.
85 VR hhave
been foun nd over 198 pagges
that results in 0.43 VR pe er page. Pages wwith
questions, exeercises
and prooblems
for studdents’
practice have been excluded.
This meeans
that VR inn
the book of economics are not
favourable esppecially
when ccomparing
withh
the results fouund
from the VR V of Biology aand
Chemistry books, where each page conttains
more than twoo
VR (Amariotaakis,
2007). 60% % of the VR arre
not followed by labels or anny
comments innside
the repres sentation. Then, , the
corpus of VR has been studieed
and a numbeer
of dimensionns
have been ide entified presentted
in the systemmic
network of f Figure 3. So, eeach
VR is categorrized
accordingg
the type it is, the relation too
the content, the relation too
reality, and iits
function wit thin the text off
the

International Conference on Applied Economics – ICOAE 2008 323
page. In terms of type, VR
Visual
representations
Type
Relation to the
content
Relation to
reality
Function
Image
Diagrammatic
Sketch - Comic
Clip & scrap
Photograph
Absent - Weak
A kind of relationship
Meaningful for learning
Realistic representation
Conceptual map
can be categorized as image when they are sketch-comic, clip & scrap, photograph, or as diagrammatic type like table, graph,
schematic representation or conceptual map. In terms of relation to the content, a VR can have no relation or a very weak relevance to the
content, can have some kind of relationship, or can be meaningful for the learning of the content. In terms of their relationship with
reality, VRep can be also classified as realistic, when they try to express aspects of a reality, or as metaphorical, when they connote or
symbolize meanings over what they represent. Finally, a VR has a function in terms of learner’s reading (Spiliotopoulou, Karatrantou,
Panagiotakopoulos & Koustourakis, 2008). In this case, as decorative are counted the ones that are not intended to play a role in learning,
but to make the page more beautiful or interesting, or give only a general aesthetic sense or feeling of the textual spirit. As illustrative
can be characterized the VRep, that provide simple representations of entities discussed in the text, without adding meaning or
information in the textual reference. Sometimes, an illustrative VRep can prove to be more useful than definitions for giving the
meanings of words. Exemplifying VRep are the ones that are suitable as completed examples or a variety of instances related to the
entities or concepts the written language refers to. VRep function as complementary when they provide information not included and
described explicitly in the linguistic component.
Sometimes they highlight the most important points addressed in the text or extend the information of the text in richness or in new
fields, thus contributing to the completion of the intended new knowledge. In the category of explanatory VRep fall the ones that assist
the text and provide new aspects of information necessary to make the explanatory, conceptual or causal mechanisms under
consideration, clearer.
Table
Graph
Metaphorical representation
Decorative
Illustrative
Exemplifying
Explanatory
Complementary
Schematic representation
Figure 3: The systemic network with dimensions and categories of VR

324
Characteriistic
examples aare
shown in Fiigures
4, 5 & 6. More analytica ally, in Figure 44,
the VR preseented
is a photograph
included in a
unit about formms
of markets and the way thhat
prices are shhaped.
It has a metaphorical ssense
and its coonnection
with the content is vvery
weak, while itts
role is rather decorative. In FFigure
5, the VRR
presented is involved i in a unnit
with the titlee
“Needs and desires”. d Its headding
says: ‘The deevelopment
of pprivate
cars’ oownership
per 1.000 inhabitan nts in Athens’. . At the left boottom
side, the e axis is namedd
as
‘Veehicles
/ 1.000 inh.’, while inn
the
blacck
horizontal bar the tterm
‘Preedictions’
is written. w Inside the
grapph,
there is s the notattion:
“Deevelopment
of f property inndex
19996
- 2020 83% %’. Authors’ aim
seemms
to be the e relation of this
reprresentation
to t the relaative
diffferentiation
betw ween the conccepts
of thhe
economic need
and the desire.
It iss
categorized as a a graph, it hhas
a
kindd
of relationsh hip to the conntent
andd
it has a ra ather exemplify fying
nature.
Photograpphs
of folding mmoney
are conssidered
to havee
an illustrative function. A chharacteristic
exaample
of a com mplementary VVR
is
presented in FFigure
6. The uunit
has a title: : “The econommic
system in crisis’.
The barss
in the graph correspond to the three levells
of
educationn,
signed at th he bottom by the square symmbols,
the firs st standing for the
‘Primary education’, the e second for thee
‘Secondary edducation’
and th he third for ‘Higgher
educationn’.
In the hor rizontal axis, tthe
countries oof
Europe are e located with the
followingg
sequence: Austria, A Portuggal,
Greece, HHolland,
Italy, Belgium, Brittain,
Germanyy,
Sweden, Fran nce, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, , Finland. At th he right bottomm
the
source of
the information
is notated: : ‘Source: Euroopean
Commis ssion (1996)’. The
graph hass
a heading ‘Un nemployment aand
Level of Edducation’,
which h is not involveed
in
the VR aas
appears in Figure
6. There iis
no relevant ddescription
in th he unit, but this VR
offers to the reader mo ore information relevant to thee
content of th he curriculum, sso
it
functionss
complementar ry to the text.
3.1.2. Findinngs
Table 1 prresents
the frequuencies
of categories
of VRepp
that are met in n secondary texxtbooks.
As is sshown,
more th han half of themm
are
photographs (554%),
while almmost
one third of them are diffferent
kind of diagrams d (27.3%)
and 14.2% tables. 11.3% of o them are skeetch-
comics and a tthere
are few (33.2%)
clips and scraps form neewspapers
or ma agazines.
Tablle
1: Percentagges
of VR per ccategory
Typee
of representaation
Sketcch-comic
Clip & scrap
Photoograph
Tablee
Graph
- Diagram
Schemmatic
representtation
Concceptual
map
Relattion
to the conntent
of text
Abseent
- weak
A kinnd
of relationshhip
Meanningful
for learnning
Relattion
to reality
Realiistic
Metaaphorical
Funcction
Decoorative
Illusttrative
Exemmplifying
Percentage
(%)
11,3
3.2
54
14.5
4.8
12.5
10
12.9
45.16
46.7
49.41
50.58
52,94
8,23
31,17
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International Conference on Applied Economics – ICOAE 2008 325
Explanatory 8,23
Complementary 9,41
Less than half of VR can be considered as meaningful for the learning of the text content, while there are some VR (12.9%) that are
not related at all or are related in a very weak way to the meaning of the content. Half of the VR are realistic and the other half
metaphorical. Half of VR have a decorative function, while 31.17% are exemplifying ones. A percentage of 8.23% VR are illustrative
and another 8.23% only are explanatory, while 9.41% can be considered as complementary.
3.2. Phase 2: Students’ experiences with the two VR
The first question asked students to read each VR carefully and then to write a description of what they thought the VR is about and
what aims to show.
Categories emerged from students’ experiences with the first VR are presented in Figure 7. Two dimensions have been identified:
The concept where students’ attention has focused and the characteristics of the language used for the description. As it appears in Table
2, 33.9% of the students did not manage to provide a description. In terms of concepts, 25% mention the terms ‘rate’ or ‘growth rate’,
53.57% describe in terms of Greece and EEC, while there is a small percentage 3.4 that refer only to Greece. 16.07 of the students refer
to the concept of development and only 33.92%
Students’
descriptions
Concept
Characteristics of
description
Growth rate
G.N.P. of Greece-EEC
G.N.P. of Greece
Development
Time
Personal Description
Enriched description
Other book concepts
Information of VR
General
Twenty years
Other periods
Figure 7: The systemic network of the categories of descriptions for the ‘G.N.P.’
VR
paid attention to the factor of time, 7.14% of them referred to it in a general way, while 16.07% only mentioned the period of twenty
years and 10,71% referred to other periods. Their descriptions, in 17.86% of the cases, can be characterized as personal, e.g. “The growth
rate of a sector”, in 25% they used terms similar the ones involved in the VR, in 7.14% they mentioned other concepts from their book
and only in 16.07% students gave enriched descriptions, where further explained the VR not necessarily in the best way. Such an
example is the following: “The diagrammatic representation has as goal to present the growth rate of different industries and in extent of
the different products before and after the entrance of Greece in EEC”.
Table 2: Percentages of categories for the G.N.P. VR
Categories Percentage (%)
No answer 33.9
Focus on concepts
Growth rate 25
G.N.P. of Greece 3.4
G.N.P. Greece-ΕΕC 53.57
Development 16.07
General 7.14
Time Twenty years 16.07
Other periods 10.71
Characteristics of descriptions
Personal description 17.86
Enriched description 16,07
Other book concepts 7.14

326 International Conference on Applied Economics – ICOAE 2008
Information of VR 25
Categories emerged from students’ descriptions for the second VR (Figure 2) are presented in the systemic network of Figure 8. One
of the concepts in the VR on which students focused is the advertising expenses with some talking about them in general. They may also
refer to the variation of expenses per kind of media, to the time and to the concept of percentage. Another concept is media. Again some
students may refer to them in general, but some others describe more analytically referring to the four kinds of media represented, or to
the social role of them. A characteristic example of the last category is a student’s description: “It wants to show the effect of media on
people’s life”.
Time also is a concept which is mentioned in students’ comments. The month October involved in the heading of the VR is
sometimes perceived and referred in their descriptions, while the period 1997-1998 is a dominant idea as we will see. Time without
specification is also mentioned.
Studying students’ descriptions we identified some other characteristics related to the way of their talking about the VR. So, they can
be distinguished as personal descriptions, enriched descriptions and descriptions including distant to the main intention of the VR
concepts. A characteristic example of the last category is the following: “In this Advertising Expense, which published in October 1997-
98, we see that a research took place about how people get informed. We see that the main informing is taken by the Television”. This
student has misinterpreted the meaning of the VR and thought its meaning to be about how people get informed. Another case is when
use in their descriptions similar information to the ones existed as textual information in the VR. A characteristic example is the
following: “It wants to show the advertising expense that was made the October (1997-1998) in the different kinds of media”.
Students’
descriptions
Concepts Media 4 kinds
Social role
Month
Time
Period 1997-98
General
Characteristics of
descriptions
Advertising expenses
General
Personal Description
Enriched description
Distant concepts
Information of VR
General
Variation per
kind of media
Variation in time
Percentage
Figure 8: The systemic network with the categories of descriptions for the
“Advertising expenses’ VR
It is worth mentioned some students’ misreading of the notion of advertising expenses. The following description reveals one
student’s idea that advertising expenses is about how much money the media spend for their own advertisement: “It shows the variation
of the expenses of the different kind of media. It wants to show that TV has dominated and does not need the same advertisement as
before in contrast to other kinds of media that must be advertised more in order to gain their old glamour”. This VR did not prove to be
much easier for the students than the first one. As it appears in the Table 3, 26.78% of the students also did not manage to provide a short
description of its content. Only in the 14.28% of their answers talked about advertising expenses in terms of variations per each kind of
media and only the 8.93% in terms of variation in time. Some students mentioned about media in general (17.86%), while only 17.86%
of them have referred to all four kinds of media involved in the VR. Another percentage of their descriptions (17.86%) focused on the
social role of media, while most of them had a different meaning that the intended. In less than half of the descriptions the time was
mentioned, while only in 8.93% of them the month October was noticed. 33.93% of them referred to the period 1997-1998 and 5.36% to
time in general. 25% of the answers had the character of a personal description, 10.71% can be characterized as enriched description,
while 23.21% of them used terms and information included in the textual content of the VR and 14.28% referred to concepts distant from
the context of VR. It is noticeable that no answer could be characterized as satisfactory in replying the question posed and understanding
the conceptual and contextual framework of the VR
.

International Conference on Applied Economics – ICOAE 2008 327
Table 3: Percentages of categories for the ‘Advertising Expenses’ VR
Categories Percentage (%)
No answer 26.78
Focus on concepts
Advertising General 23.21
expenses Variation per medium 14.28
Variation in time 8.93
Percentage 16.07
General 17.86
Media
Four kinds 17.86
Social role 17.86
October 8.93
Time
Period 1997-98 33.93
General 5.36
Characteristics of descriptions
Personal description 25
Enriched description 10.71
Distant concepts 14.28
Information of VR 23.21
4. Conclusions
The findings presented here support the need to investigate the role of Visual Representations in teaching and learning and especially
the teaching and learning of curriculum subjects, like the Economics, which most of them are beyond students’ immediate experience.
The first part of this work focused on the visual representations included in the book of Economics of the first year of Greek Lyceum. It
was found that the main type of visual representation is the photographs (54%), that only half of all can be considered as meaningful for
learning and that half of them have a metaphorical role. Moreover, most of VR have either a decorative function (52.94%) or an
exemplifying function (31.17%). Taking into account the facts that no VR is mentioned or notified inside the text and that they are not
accompanied by explanatory labels, we can conclude that the visualization of the ideas of economics is not supported. Their relationship
to the content is not direct and their role as being a key component of the way reasoning is developed in the discipline of economics is
poor. Although most of the VR have a quality in terms of their technical and aesthetic characteristics, they do not succeed to provide
images of the activities and the processes taken place in the field of economics.
All these highlight the important issue of selection of fruitful representations. It could be argued that the authors’ rationale in the
selection of the VR has not a clear goal, neither follows clear direction. It seems that more attention is paid to what is written in the
textbook than how this can be better visually presented and better visualised by the readers. On the other hand, the VR from the reader’s
point of view is another important issue that is neglected; the phenomenology of the representation imposes certain features and
consequent ideas on students’ reading and interpretations which the authors or the teachers would never have thought about.
This is also supported by evidence from the second part of this work on how students experience two of these VR, when used
without any textual supplement. Students face serious problems in reading, understanding the meaning and describing what the VR says.
In an effort to generalize the findings from the two representations, we can say that students’ experiences have certain characteristics:
The content and the conceptual meaning of a VR is not automatically recognized, certain phenomenological aspects of the VR attract
their attention, while other quite obvious are neglected, aspects irrelevant to the VR can be recognized, unintended and unexpected
readings take often place. Our research raises questions about what kind of representations in the textbooks of Economics could be worth
of a thousand words. Three directions have to be further exploited: the inquiry of fruitful representations, the students’ responses to them,
and teachers’ use of the VR in the classrooms. The importance of appropriate teaching materials cannot be doubted, and VR have to find
their place as a medium that helps students transcend the limitations of the mind. Appropriate classroom practices where reading and
interpretation of ‘good’ VR need well focused teachers’ actions. Teachers’ interventions relating to different kinds of representations and
oral explanations supplementary to the visual and textual information have to a priority in order pictures to be worth of a thousand words.
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