Mexican children from Cosomaloapan (male dominated) and Tehuantepec (female dominated) were asked to draw "the person you'd like to be." In Cosomaloapan, 96% of the females and 93% of the males drew their own sex. In Tehuantepec, 76% of the males and 71% of the females drew theirs. There were highly significant between-city differences…

A training series, designed to increase kindergarteners' conceptual and visual perception skills in dealing with texture, was evaluated. Improvement occurred in subjects' ability to describe texture and to use it in artwork, but the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts indicated that ability to form new concepts was not fostered. (SJL)

This study of third graders examined the relative effects, under two conditions each, of two teaching methods: modeling of the contour drawing process and presentation of predrawn examples. Analysis of children's posttest drawings for visual information content indicated that predrawn examples were more effective than modeling as a teaching…

Four studies tested claims that young children are inhibited in attempts to change drawings because of constraints by order in which representational elements are drawn. Found that procedural rigidity levels did not predict preschoolers' performance when asked to change their representation and that preschoolers could change rigid sub-procedures…

Reports on research conducted over a six-year period on the relationship between children's art and reading levels. Provides an overview of literature on children's development in and through their art, examining the reading-art connection. Presents findings from one study in Grenada primary schools and three in Ontario, Canada. (CMK)

Explores how visual (pictorial) and verbal (linguistic) systems work together and influence each other as young children create symbol systems. Finds that, for young children, color plays a key role in communicating messages. Shows how art and writing (especially color and light) influence each other in children's literacy development. (SR)

Tests the hypothesis of U-shaped development in graphic symbolization that postulates similarities between the drawings of preschool children and adult artists, and the loss or suppression of the early facility in middle childhood. Confirms the existence of a decline in symbolic skills in adolescent children. Presents implications for art…

This descriptive study examined children's drawings and related language episodes to differentiate drawings exhibiting play from those exhibiting exploratory behavior. Drawings categorized as play were further analyzed to identify constructive and imaginary play. The play theory used as the basis of the study proposes that exploration and…

This cross-sectional study examined the u-shaped development in graphic symbolization, a theory postulating that aesthetic properties of preschool children's drawings are similar to those of adult artists' drawings. Subjects were 140 artists and non-artists from 7 age groups, ranging from 5-year-old children to adults. All subjects were given the…

Reviews studies of children's drawings and summarizes experiment which tested 5- to 11-year-olds for ability to execute color use differences and sensitivity to differences in heraldic, gradation, harmonic, and pure color use. It was found that children go from being completely unable to consistently able to produce appropriate differences. (MBR)

This paper reports on the introduction of an exploratory program on emotional development, "Drawing Emotions," through which instructors try to: (1) help the child learn how to deal with feelings; (2) ascertain relational difficulties; (3) apprehend their own questions which were not answered; and (4) interfere in the presence of risks…

This study extends previous work in the use of descriptive reinforcement procedures to increase productivity of new forms in artwork. Subjects were four kindergarteners who demonstrated an absence of diverse forms in their paintings. Results indicated that form diversity was improved and that the improvement lasted over time. (SJL)

Examined U-shaped development of graphic symbolization in children and in nonartist and artist adults. Found that drawing scores of adult artists did not differ from those of youngest children and artist adolescents, with a developmental sequence in acquisition of the ability to construct referential connections underlying visual metaphors.…

Explored the use of 5 and 11 year olds' artwork to investigate their knowledge of nonverbal communication and social distance. Children's drawings indicated that children recognize that strangers should be kept at a greater distance than friends; and children's age influenced their knowledge of nonverbal communication and social distance. (BB)

Teachers completed the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire for Children for 148 preschool children in South African townships, and children drew pictures of personal experiences. Findings indicated that children exposed to violence suffered posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that, though their drawings showed severe emotional…