Imag‐ining ourselves: illustration and identity in the New Zealand School Journal

Abstract

Interest in the role of the New Zealand School Journal as an officially sanctioned publication for schools, has resulted in a number of past studies exploring its relationship to official curriculum, educational policy and wider socio‐political developments, largely in relation to the written text. This article focuses on selected visual imagery, drawing on a masters study that examined discourses of art and identity through an interdisciplinary approach. Primary sources such as the School Journal publications themselves, material from the National Archives, and the stories of illustrators (gathered through a variety of communications including oral history), contributed a range of voices to the research. This article addresses some of the themes identified in relation to post World War 2 discourses of identity seeking to construct a sense of New Zealandness in educational publications. Acknowledging the role of imagery in educational publication itself offers another voice in constructing our educational history.