<![CDATA[Future educators must possess Visual Communication Design (VCD) competencies due to the growing significance of multimodal communication in global educational contexts. The purpose of this study was to explore how master’s students in English education perceive the role of VCD competencies in promoting global creative competence and to create a competency framework to encourage this development. The study involved 21 students in an English Education master’s program at a university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, who participated in the study. The research design used a qualitative exploratory research design. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were used to gather data, which were then subjected to Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis. The findings revealed that students perceived VCD competencies as essential for effective communication, creativity, audience engagement, and professional development. Four major themes emerged: the meaning of VCD competencies, global visual literacy, cross-cultural visual communication, and the need for VCD competency development. While students demonstrated foundational visual literacy and awareness of audience needs, the global and intercultural dimensions of visual communication remained underdeveloped. Observation data confirmed that VCD elements were integrated into learning activities, particularly through visual presentations, poster analysis, and design discussions. Based on these findings, a VCD competency framework is proposed that encompasses visual literacy, design thinking, digital content creation, cross-cultural visual communication, and global design awareness. The framework guides integrating VCD competencies into English Education master’s programs to enhance students’ global creative competence In conclusion, VCD competencies are essential for strengthening master’s students’ global creative competence by enabling them to communicate ideas visually, creatively, and appropriately across diverse cultural contexts. Therefore, English Education master’s programs are recommended to systematically integrate VCD competency development into their curricula through interdisciplinary, practice-based, and globally oriented learning activities.]]>
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