THE MEANING OF VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE VISUAL JOURNALS OF CHILDREN AGED 6-8 YEARS

• Main Author: Ardhanareswari A, Alzena
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/57553
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Currently, almost the whole world is affected by the corona virus outbreak or COVID-19. This situation makes children's activities change, they must obey health protocols, stay at home more often, and minimize physical interaction with other people or their closest relatives. During this pandemic, children are divided into two groups. Some feel happier doing activities at home, and some feel bored and want to go back to school. The pandemic situation can make children vulnerable to psychological disorders. Parents must know the feelings and experiences of children during the pandemic so that psychological disorders in children can be avoided. To find out the needs of children, it is necessary to build communication between parents and children. One of the communication media that can be used by children as a medium of communication to parents is a visual journal. Visual journal is a medium that combines collaborative thinking by using images (drawing) and words (writing). Through visual journals we can find out how someone thinks through a combination of drawing and writing. Like the function used by adults in the process of thinking, visual journals can be useful for children as a medium for thinking and understanding their surroundings. In addition, previous research found that the use of drawing in knowing the child's experience in an event produced more information about the child's feelings and expectations than when the children were asked questions in an oral question-and-answer activity. Many adults forget the power of drawing and writing as a narrative activity. Children have a natural ability to express narratives through pictures and writing, but many adults do not know the power of drawing as a medium for children by externalizing their experiences, thoughts, and feelings through visual images. Visual journal activities can be carried out by children who can already draw and write at the age of 6-8 years. One of the meanings of the signs that children make in visual journals can be known through analysis of visual representations. This study was conducted to find out how children's understand and feel about the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic that can be seen from the meaning of children's visual journals. This study uses a descriptive qualitative approach as a way to express meaning in visual journals for children aged 6-8 years about the COVID-19 situation which is analyzed by visual representation theory. The data collected in the form of drawing and writings obtained from observations of visual journaling activities by children aged 6-8 years which were carried out at their homes during the pandemic. The results of the observations will be analyzed using the theory of social semiotics by Gunther Kress and Van Leeuwen through metafunctions, namely ideational functions, interpersonal functions, and textual functions. This study found that each child has a unique way of representing their meaning, and their feelings about the state of the pandemic can be depicted in the visual journal.