This book is a collection of essays in which the author counters high-stakes testing, the pathologizing of children, and the unrelenting critique of public schools with a persuasive account of how children actively make sense of the world and their experience through the making of works, such as drawings, constructions, and writings. The book is…

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…

Dicker-Brandeis saw the principal aim of teaching to be liberation of concealed sources of children's creativity, development of fantasies and imaginations. Article explores play and art and Dicker-Brandeis's role in these activities. The value of art and play in the lives of children, particularly in a world of fear and death, is validated by the…

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…

Presents a developmental view of the creative process based on Montessori principles. Discusses the preschool child's need for activity, exploration at an individual pace, and connection between the self and the universe. Considers ways to nurture a child's self-actualizing creativity. (JPB)

Presents a case study, through observation of a child named Hawk Weisman, that demonstrates a child's use of drawing to find meaning. Discusses Hawk's motivations for drawing, the recurring themes that encompass both humanistic and scientific concepts, and his homemade books. Addresses the educational implications. (CMK)

This handbook, written for teachers, art teachers, and parents of young children, describes actual elementary school classroom experiences. Each anecdote is juxtaposed with a simple explanation of its philosophical and psychological rationale. Symbolic representation of the environment through art making is seen as a natural language, a…

This is a 600-reference bibliography on the development of children's conceptions and artistic representations of God. References are presented in 12 categories: (1) The God Concept, (2) Concept Development, (3) Child Development and Developmental Child Psychology, (4) Religious Education, (5) Children's Religious Thought and Development, (6)…

Analyzes 500 drawings by 258 Hong Kong Chinese and English children (ages 7-11) in order to assess intellectual, social, and emotional development. Found that, irrespective of race or culture, the drawings were symbolic and that similarities were more apparent than differences. Also found that as development proceeded, symbolism was increasingly…

Focuses on a group of children with moderate learning difficulties who exhibited a lack of interest or enjoyment in drawing. Attributes this to a developmental lag in the use of specific forms and drawing skills. Concludes that nonspecialist teachers could benefit from a greater awareness of developmental stages. (MJP)

Interview with artist Ilka List describes her research: collecting 1872 drawings from rural and urban second- and third-grade children to determine the impact of environmental experiences on children's art, sense of self, and cognitive and emotional abilities. Children with a broad range of outdoor, nature-oriented experiences had greater spatial…

The assumptions of stage theory and major theories of child art are reviewed in order to develop an explanation of artistic expression that allows for variable endpoints and accounts for relationships between children's drawings and adult art. Numerous studies indicate strong similarities among children's early drawings, which suggests that…

This research deals with the development and relative importance of both the conceptual-cognitive and the aesthetic-affective aspect of the perceptual process at various age levels of children. Three tasks were chosen: (1) sorting drawings of human figures--a task that represents a more conceptual function; (2) expressing preferences for those…

To study the development of artistry across media, 45 kindergarten, first, and third grade children were given tasks in the media of drawing, clay, and storytelling. The tasks included spontaneous production, completion of a work, assembly of a work from numerous component parts, and copying a completed work. The spontaneous tasks were repeated…

This paper first gives a historical overview of mosaics, discussing mosaic masks made by the Aztecs and floor mosaics made by the Greeks, as well as the Roman mosaics at Pompeii and the Byzantine decorative mosaics exemplified by those at Ravenna. The paper then elaborates on children's mosaic making observed during research conducted between 1986…