Deconstructing Visual Imagery by the Mentally Retarded: Implications for Methodology Theory

Abstract

This paper presents a deconstructive analysis of drawings by the mentally retarded children. It analyses the visual images for their symbolic meanings and significance to the young artists. Data were collected qualitatively using document analysis, observations and informal conversational interviews. The study revealed that the mentally retarded are potentially creative and go through the same universal developmental stages as their normal counterparts. Their configurations and symbol systems are perceptually diverse and individual. The study recommends use of instructional strategies tailored to suit the intellectual levels of the learners as well as other disabilities that normally characterize the mentally retarded. Implications for curriculum change are also suggested.