In the middle years of schooling, spanning grades four to nine, it is common practice for generalist teachers to deliver integrated arts education. Research confirms that teacher effectiveness with the arts is influenced by their sense of efficacy, which is derived from a coalition of factors including confidence, competence, subject mastery and…

Two experiments were conducted with fourth- through eighth-grade students to study two problems in drawing faces realistically: placement of features and the use of light-dark gradients to render depth. Results indicated that drawing rules are practical and effective for teaching realistic drawing to children. (Author/SR)

Describes a study which compared the amount of art-related and non-art-related conversations between students and teachers in upper-elementary art classes. Findings showed that non-art related conversations took 68 percent of class time. The author discusses the purpose, appropriate subjects, and timing of effective art-related, teacher-student…

Observations of each child (n=24) in two sixth grade art rooms in Ankara, Turkey, and the building by students of 1/20 models of ideal art rooms found three elements of creativity (person, process, and product) were significantly different from each other. Process and product occurring within the same environment were highly correlated with each…

For one instructor, years of working with children in the art classroom suggested that talking with children is necessary and vital to understanding how they learn artistically and how to teach them. This paper focuses specifically on children's talk about their art in relation to the children's view that their world is separate and distinct from…

The study with 34 gifted fifth-grade students found that a concrete sequential approach to developing visual literacy was more effective than an abstract visualization approach. Subjects either received guided visualization or direct instruction on such art concepts as shape, form, line, color, perspective, variety, and unity. (DB)

Explores fifth-graders' ideas about art and economic concepts before and after an integrated art-economics unit. Indicates that students increased their understanding of both sets of concepts, with the economic concepts being learned better. Suggests that this support claims that coupling disciplines can facilitate the deep learning of concepts…

Relationships among anger, anger drawing themes, and age are investigated in this follow-up study. Data used were scores from Spielberger's State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) and an anger theme drawing. Chi-square and two-factor ANOVA were used. Results suggest that anger drawing theme is a function of maturity rather than level of…

This 1981 study replicated a 1970 investigation of the characteristics of clay figures made by children from ages 5 to 11 in order to determine whether children had become more adept during the 10-year period. Children's methods of construction and amount of detail used in the second study did not vary from the earlier one. (Author)

This report describes a program for integrating visual art into the core curriculum of sixth grade students, in a growing, upper middle and middle class, suburban community, elementary school located in a northwest suburb of Chicago (Illinois). The problem was noted originally by the teachers, who found the students unable to apply skills learned…

The effects of students' sense of self-determination as a motivational force in art learning were investigated. Several hundred sixth graders participated in the study. All four outcome measures revealed differences favoring the student-choice condition. Both achievement and attitudes are improved when students' sense of self-determination is…

This study investigated the use of art lessons to enhance the comprehension of specific concepts taught in a school curriculum. Reading and mathematics achievement measures were administered as pre- and posttests to 87 fifth graders. Students in the treatment group were taught art lessons by an art teacher. In these lessons, the concepts of area,…

While evaluation conditions made little difference in the quality of the fourth graders' drawings, their effect on continuing motivation was significant. The threat of grades and peer comparisons was detrimental to continuing motivations. Students who evaluated their own performance were the most motivated. (Author/RM)

Results indicated that, for elementary students, art criticism was more effective than a combination of methodologies for developing positive affect toward art works. For junior high students, the combination methodology was more effective than art criticism, the exposure method, or the counterattitudinal advocacy method. (Author/SR)

A national survey of 1,320 arts teachers and 165 supervisors was undertaken to assist in identifying content areas and developing content objectives for an instructional television series on visual art, music, drama, and dance for students in grades 6 through 9. The objectives of the survey were to assess teaching practices in arts education in…