Visual Thinking as an Enhancer for the Education of Deaf Students

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-73782026000100189

Keywords:

Visual thinking, Deaf students, Image, Inclusion, Experiential

Abstract

The incorporation of images into the educational context as a teaching resource is long-standing, and the potential of visual thinking as a cognitive tool for ordering and organizing ideas, through images and keywords, could enhance inclusive education for deaf students in their classrooms. The aim of this article is to describe the elements of the nature of deaf visual thinking and how these can activate their education. The methodology is interdisciplinary and utilizes deaf epistemologies complemented by the reconstruction of historical and theoretical elements of visual thinking. Regarding the results, we can point out that the theoretical contributions of Visual Thinking, complemented by the epistemology of deaf people and based on experiential pedagogy, provide us with interesting perspectives for didactic work to be addressed with deaf subjects. For example, their schemas have a preference for the image, but used as an idea-word, and in their schematic-pictorial representations, the use of gestural detail, which focuses on expressive issues, has a high value. These inform us and allow us to understand how a deaf subject perceives, feels, and interacts with their environment.

Author Biographies

Jesús Lara, Universidad Austral de Chile

PhD in Pedagogy with honors from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Master’s degree in Education, with a specialization in Curriculum and Assessment, from the University of Santiago, Chile. Primary General Education Teacher, with a specialization in Community Development, from the Luís Galdames Professional Institute. He participated as a speaker in the 4th International Congress Sciences, Technologies and Cultures: Dialogues among the Disciplines of Knowledge, held from October 9 to 12, 2015, at the University of Santiago, Chile, where he presented the paper “Dominican Influence at the Royal University of San Felipe and the Transition to a Bourbon Model of Education.” He was an editor and speaker at the 2nd International Congress on the History of the Order of Preachers in the Americas, held in Bogotá from April 20 to 22, 2016, where he presented the paper “The Reorganization of Education in Chile during the Nineteenth Century and the Participation of the Dominicans in the Educational Process.”

Karina Muñoz, Universidad Austral de Chile

PhD in Educational Sciences from the Faculty of Education, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. Diploma in Quality University Teaching, “New Scenarios, New Students, New Teachers,” from Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile. Master’s degree in Education, with a specialization in Vocational and Educational Guidance, from the Faculty of Education, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile, 1998. Specialist in Early Intervention, certified by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA. Special Education Teacher, with a specialization in Hearing and Language, from Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia

Francisco Lara, Instituto de Investigación de la Educación Bilingüe para Sordos; Secretaría de Educación de Veracruz

Deaf researcher with a bachelor’s degree in Special Education. Teacher at the Veracruz Ministry of Education and founder, director, and professor of the Institute for Research on Bilingual Education for the Deaf. Co-designer and instructor of the training program for the Deaf Language Model and the Hearing Bilingual Educational Advisor, as well as coordinator of the design of educational materials for Deaf people in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. From a Deaf perspective, he coordinated the research project “Mexican Sign Language Mediators to Facilitate Literacy among Deaf People without Formal Schooling,” funded by the former Conahcyt between 2022 and 2024 (now Secihti). In 2022, he contributed to the design of questions to be included in the next population census to ensure the inclusion of the Deaf signing population. He is the co-author of various research articles, books, and book chapters addressing the literacy practices of the Deaf Community, the role of the Deaf Language Model, the teaching of Mexican Sign Language to Deaf adults without formal schooling, and Deaf Culture in public events.

Hans Sporman, Universidad Austral de Chile

Deaf researcher. Special Education Teacher, with a specialization in Hearing and Language Disorders, and holder of a master’s degree in Addressing Diversity in Educational Contexts from Universidad Austral de Chile. He teaches Chilean Sign Language courses at the same university. He has participated in research projects involving the Deaf Community and is the co-author of several articles and books.

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Published

2026-07-25

How to Cite

Lara, J., Muñoz, K., Lara, F., & Sporman, H. (2026). Visual Thinking as an Enhancer for the Education of Deaf Students. Revista Latinoamericana De Educación Inclusiva, 20(1), 189–204. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-73782026000100189

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Temática Libre

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