This document consists of the two issues of the journal "Visual Arts in Research" published in 1994. This journal focuses on the theory and practice of visual arts education from educational, historical, philosophical, and psychological perspectives. Number 1 of this volume includes the following contributions: (1) "Zooming in on the Qualitative…

This case study of artist/researcher Ursula Kolbe was undertaken in 1998 to extend understanding of the complexity of the process of teaching and learning in respect to children's interactions with visual arts materials. The following questions prompted the research: how does a teacher who is also an artist work with young children? and does a…

The purpose of this study was: (1) to examine how artistic development is fostered in the playgroup setting; (2) to discover if between-playgroup effects are apparent in the developmental levels of children's painting, and (3) if such differences occur, to consider the relevance of supervisor behavior to these differences. Subjects were 48…

Investigated effects of race on ideas of social distance. When asked to draw pictures of themselves with a "white person" and with a "brown person," children drew themselves closer to an in-group member than to an out-group member. Results suggest that ideas of social distance are affected by racial/ethnic memberships of those…

Reviews past studies of children's drawings and their relationship to academic ability. Discusses the use of Clark's Drawing Abilities Test with gifted and talented secondary students. Finds that the test can be used successfully to identify various ability levels among students. (CFR)

Investigates relationships between drawing skills of children ages four to eight and their ability to identify materials. Regression of measures of aesthetic drawing, developmental drawing, design making, symbol creation, and developed schemata found a positive correlation between total drawing scores and material identification scores; age…

Explores how the universal stages of graphic language development manifest themselves in children living in the Amish community and how the uniqueness of this subculture is reflected in their drawings. Explains that Amish children focus on an agrarian environment and use copying as a means to finding an accepted place in the community. (CMK)

The Comic Book Project was launched originally as a way of putting into practice some of the most important educational research of the last decade--that is, the correlation between involvement in the arts and performance in academic subjects (Deasy, 2002; Fiske, 1999). This article is not necessarily about comic books; it is about children…

"Setting" A single primary school which serves a mixed socioeconomic area in the north of Scotland. "Method" Parents gave demographic details about their family and information about whether their children had been breastfed. Twenty- three children, aged 6, took part in three focus groups which were conducted by two…

Through content analysis of interviews based on a class art activity, a study of 15 first-graders investigated children's perceptions of a good story. The story was based on children's interpretation of artwork they had created. Through the use of content analysis, three major themes of the children's stories were identified: (1) animals as main…

This paper describes the creative activity of two first graders and identifies moments of creative activity that reflect the integration of strands of experience. Children's and adults' creativity are compared. Topics include: (1) the role of novelty in art; (2) the creative act as an interaction of individual, product, and culture; and (3) the…

Describes a study in which twenty first grade students wrote daily in journals, which were then analyzed at the end of the school year. (JC)

As the field of gifted education has increasingly embraced broader definitions of giftedness, teachers and specialists in the education of the gifted and talented need additional ways to assess the talent development needs of a broader array of students. Since learning styles comprise an important component of any comprehensive talent development…

American 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children participated in an art program synthesizing the Suzuki Music method and an art instruction method developed by Yoshio Tamano. Children receiving the self-paced art lessons at home gained more in concept formation and painting skill than did a control group. (PP)

Describes interactions among children in four preschool kindergarten art classes. Examines the nature of the talk surrounding children's mutual participation in voluntary art activities. Concludes that classroom social life demonstrated children's capacity to collaborate in meaningful ways and to benefit from the sharing of perspectives. (KM)