This paper discusses some of the complex issues involved in how Europe is represented in a range of map formats. The reader is encouraged to consider these issues by accessing recommended websites in order to analyse how Europe is represented through their published contents. Simon Catling's theoretical work on children's worlds is then used to…

A visual research project addressed school children's concepts of ideal learning environments. Drawings and accompanying narratives were collected from Year 5 and Year 6 children in nine Queensland primary schools. The 133 submissions were analysed and coded to develop themes, identify key features and consider the uses of imagination. The…

For almost a century, researchers have studied creative imagination, most typically that of children. This article reports on a study of the development of creative imagination of Chinese youths and its relation to the educational environment. Data consisted of 4,162 students from grades 4 through 12. Findings showed that students' creative…

This study examined aggressive fantasies, violence-approving attitudes, and empathy as mediators of the effects of violence exposure and parental nurturance on aggression. A total of 603 early adolescents (M age = 11.8 years; SD = 0.8) participated in a two-wave study, reporting on violence exposure and parental nurturance at Wave 1 and the three…

Students, their parents, and even perfect strangers want to know: How do you take something from your imagination and turn it into a satisfying drawing, painting, or sculpture? It may sound simple to a seasoned artist, but many students need to be walked through the process. In this article, the author describes an assignment which was inspired by…

This article presents an art project designed for upper-elementary students to (1) imagine visual differences in the sun's appearance during the four seasons; (2) develop ideas for visually translating their personal experiences regarding the seasons to their sun drawings; (3) create four distinctive seasonal suns using colors and imagery to…

The aims of this article are to explore the links between drawing and playing and to conceptualise drawings as spaces for intellectual play. The empirical research that supports this position is based on an interpretivist study involving 14 children aged four-six in a primary school in England. Over a one-year period, 882 drawings were collected…

The learning experiences of young children cannot be conveniently separated into the areas of cognitive, social/emotional and physical development. They are integrated and interdependent. This balance can be achieved through creative, interactive play that supports and scaffolds all developmental and content areas of the curriculum. Despite the…

The Cartoneras projects aim to promote the celebration of language, culture, and creativity through a collaboration between top literary minds and cardboard collectors in Buenos Aires and Lima. They produce and publish beautiful books with hand-painted cardboard covers that speak of the wonderful literature inside. Inspired by those projects, the…

In this article we present the results from an exploratory study conducted in the Wet Tropics in Australia. The study was initiated as part of a larger research program to support the development of a water quality improvement plan. Seven schools were invited to participate in this study. Students were asked to develop visions for the future of…

When children write plays, their wishes, fears, and secrets face an audience. An audience is not a do-gooder making nice. It is not an authority figure with a grudge against one's race or class. When it laughs at the jokes or applauds, it can be trusted. It is saying this play--and by extension its author--fits into the world on its own terms. In…

One of the author's main goals as an art teacher is to make sure that her students understand at least one technique that any artist might use to make a work of art look more interesting. While she teaches various techniques, she often faces the challenge of how to get her students to explore their own imaginations and feel confident in their…

Educable mental retardation is a delay in acquiring basic reading, writing and counting skills emerging through late speaking and linguistic development along with social, emotional or behavioral problems. It is pointed out that such children have intelligence in the 45-74 range, and that they are incompetent in terms of language skills,…

The transition from kindergarten to Grade 1 is marked by a sudden decrease in children's play time (Brostrom, 2005; Hartmann & Rollett, 1994). This study sought to examine 69 Montreal-area Grade 1 children's beliefs about out of school play, as well as their parents' (N = 56) perceptions of their play. Findings indicate that parents value play…

This repeated measures study examined second graders' (n = 21) performance in creating inventions related to animal adaptations for simple products under two conditions that alternated each week for a six-week period. In the analogy condition, students used form and function analogy object boxes to learn about animal adaptations, applying these…