A review of the Common European Framework of Reference for Visual Literacy – Prototype (CEFR-VL)

Abstract

In the Common European Framework of Reference for Visual Literacy (CEFR-VL) the researchers present competencies for teaching, learning and assessing art, conceptualized as visual literacy, offering constructive possibilities for modifications and implementation in Europe and potentially globally. The CEFR-VL is comparable with other international approaches to framing curriculum and assessment approaches, including the General Certificate in Secondary Education in England, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, the National Standards created by the National Art Education Association in the United States, and design and craft focused practices in Europe. Given multiple incarnations of art, design and craft making worldwide, articulating what visual literacy means, along with re-shaping and revising the framework in an ongoing way, offers a helpful infrastructure for use by the global community of art educators, creators, students and scholars who are committed to the visual and to visual sensitivity, and to situated meanings and interpretations of visual and material cultures of production and consumption.