Educational application of Canva in cultivating visualization-driven project thinking: A Kazakh-Sino comparative study

Abstract

Visualization tools like Canva have become key resources for developing project-based thinking, a critical competence for future educational psychologists. This exploratory cross-sectional study examined the associations between two Canva use variables (depth of use and visual feature dependence) and two project thinking dimensions (idea organization and user perspective-taking) across two cultural contexts. Survey data were collected from 83 university students at Huanggang Normal University in China (n=48) and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Kazakhstan (n=35). Pearson correlation, t-tests, and ANOVA were used for analysis. Results showed that: (1) depth of Canva use had a weak, non-significant association with idea organization (r = -0.044, p = 0.690); (2) visual feature dependence was moderately and positively correlated with perspective-taking (r = 0.56, p < 0.001); and (3) Kazakhstani students scored significantly higher on overall project thinking than Chinese students (M = 4.71 vs. 4.40, t = -3.79, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that specific Canva features, particularly visual design tools, support audience-centered thinking more effectively than general depth of use. The pedagogical significance lies in embedding intentional visual design tasks into educational psychology curricula, as such tasks can cultivate perspective-taking skills that traditional instruction rarely develops directly.