Schools regularly find themselves dealing with the aftermath of family, community and national tragedies. In this article, two university-based educators share their experiences of working with schools to engage children in arts-based activities to support the processing of the traumatic events they endured. In both cases, children in local…

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the diversity of characteristics in the drawings of children in Mexico City. The authors conducted a thematic analysis of 174 drawings from children ages 6 to 11 that revealed two main discrete themes: nature and stress. A personalized, supportive relationship with nature emerged as a…

In this article, we present and discuss a project in which children in two different environments, in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and in the south-eastern part of Norway, were given the opportunity to express themselves through drawings. We investigate how differently--and how similarly--the children express themselves when they were…

This article reports on the meaning potential of daily access to drawing/writing media for widening and deepening meaning construction. In a yearlong study in a second grade classroom, the author worked with a second-year teacher to see what would happen when art and language were encouraged ways of knowing in which children could construct…

Describes the Prospect Archives, which contain children's artwork and academic work as well as observations and reports on the children by teachers and other staff members of the Prospect School. The contents of the archive document the growth of individual students over a period of years. (Author/IRT)

Describes the development of children's artistic expression from age four through adolescence. Explores the visual-haptic theory, baseline theory, the inside-out expression, the fold-over picture, the upside-down depiction, and the front view-top view display. (RJC)

Suggests that in contrast to art as "recess" creating a collective mural is a process of self-exposion and conquest. The child's image expands not only to arm's reach size, but to the size of the whole wall. For once the child is acting on his own environment rather than being acted on. (Author/AM)

Analysis of drawings by 26 children indicated striking contrasts in subject matter and style between girls and boys, but did not present stereotyped images of sex roles. The contrasts could not be specifically attributed to genetic, social, or psychological differences between the sexes. (MJL)

This article is concerned with the representational paintings and drawings of six- to nine-year-old children in which human relationships and interactions are central to subject matter. As a rule, children at this age are thought to be at the height of their curiosity and imaginative powers. (Author/KC)

Examines relationships between child and adult art, proposing an exploration of meanings of children's art activity by examining relationships between art-making and other activities of the same developmental period. The paper posits some basic human needs and considers how various activities might serve as instrumentalities to realize such goals.…

This collection of 10 papers focuses on art testing and Norman C. Meier's role in this area of study. The titles written by Gilbert Clark are: (1) "Early Inquiry, Research, and Testing of Children's Art Abilities"; (2) "Norman C. Meier: A Critique of His Tests and Research"; and (3) "Recent Inquiry and Testing of…

Discusses the use of disguises and masks in the art classroom and in the daily lives of children. Focuses on different materials and objects that can be used as a mask or disguise. Draws on the experiences of the author. (CMK)

Although many clinicians use drawing tasks to assess children who have been exposed to family violence, few professionals are aware of current research in this area. Professionals should be apprised of the graphic indicators of child abuse in drawings, reliable art-based assessment tools, and legal and ethical principles surrounding the use of…

Recommends ways in which parents can foster creative development in their children. (DS)

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…