Qualitative Research: Childrens Art Development

Qualitative Research: Childrens Art Development

Ryanne DeSpain

Qualitative Research: Childrens Art Development

This investigation was beneficial in helping me to practice and familiarize myself with
the process of analyzing childrens art and recognizing characteristics that determine their art
developmental stage. In understanding a childs art development stage and their thoughts about
art, I will be better prepared to aid the child in the future because I will be aware of their skill
level and thought process. This is important because art promotes growth in all areas so a
students art development stage reflects much more about the student than just their ability to
make art. Understanding and utilizing childrens art development stages in the classroom will aid
in decision making for appropriate and effective art integration, which enhances many aspects of
the learning process for core curriculum. Using art and critical thinking in the classroom expands
creativity and development for students of all ages. While art integration is beneficial in all
grades, it is especially helpful for young children in the classroom. Depending on age and
developmental level, these students may not be able to write much besides their own name and
do not know what many words mean but they can still create a story and express themselves
through art which is shown by the drawing I analyzed from a four year old. This important
attribute of art in education was highlighted by Eisner (2002) when he wrote that the arts show
that the limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition (p.8). Art can be used
to demonstrate understanding and conceptual knowledge at a much younger age than writing or
oral discussion.
To collect the piece of art that I analyzed I asked Andy, a four year old at the daycare that
I work at, to draw either himself or a tree. I have worked at the daycare for a year and a half and
currently work five days a week so Andy and the other children are familiar and comfortable
with me. Andy draws frequently and I have seen many pictures that he has drawn before. He has
developed a lot in the last year and moved from scribbling to drawing shapes with meaning about

Qualitative Research: Childrens Art Development

six months ago. I asked Andy to create this drawing around four in the afternoon by getting a
blank piece of paper, bringing it to him, and saying: I heard you enjoy drawing, could you draw
a picture of yourself or a tree for me? You can use any colors you want and anything you want to
draw with. The options that were available for him to use were crayons, colored pencils, and
markers. He was excited and eager to draw for me and he started right away.
I sat at the table by Andy while he drew his picture and gathered more information by
watching him draw and having a conversation with him about what he was drawing. He chose to
draw a picture of himself and started out using a green crayon. When I asked him why he chose
green he said it was mostly because he was already holding it when I asked him to draw but he
also told me that green is one of his favorite colors. He started by drawing a circle for his head
but he did not add any detail. He then drew the body, mostly by drawing the shape for his shirt
and his pants, without drawing hands or feet. Then he went back and added hair, eyes, and a
smile to his head and face. At this point he looked at the picture for a second then said wait I
need to add the hands. He drew the hands quickly. I wanted to make sure I had his age correct
so I asked him if he was four. After he answered that he was, he picked the same crayon back up
and wrote a 4 next to the drawing of himself. Then he referenced a drawing he had made of a dog
a couple days prior. He said that the teacher he drew it for had said it was very good so he
wanted to draw a dog for me too. Andy put the green crayon away and replaced it with a brown
crayon because he said most dogs are brown. He started with the ears for the dog first and on the
first dog he drew, he stopped after the nose and said that he had done the nose wrong so he
wanted to start over. He drew a second dog next to the first and again started with the ears, then
the head and eyes. I asked him if he drew a dog because he had one and he said he did not have

Qualitative Research: Childrens Art Development

one but that he really likes dogs. Andy seemed proud of his drawing and after he gave it to me he
continued to draw and talk with the other children.

If given the opportunity to spend more time observing Andy draw, I would initiate more
dialogue, ask more questions, and allow him to choose what to draw. However, I gained useful
information about Andy and many aspects of his drawing point toward his placement in
Lowenfelds Preschematic stage of art development. The Preschematic stage, as explained by
Lowenfeld and Brittain (1970), generally spans from age four to seven and follows the
Scribbling stage as children start drawing their first representational shapes (p. 475). The use of
known objects, the floating of the dogs and the number four, and the use of space in Andys
picture fit with characteristics of the Preschematic stage. The stage is also characterized by
drawing objects that are not related to one another, which partially applies to Andys drawing.
The addition of the dogs (since he does not have one) seems unrelated, but the number four next

Qualitative Research: Childrens Art Development

to his drawing of himself shows the relation between himself and his age. As omission of parts is
expected in this stage, it is not surprising that Andy did not include his own feet, nose, or many
parts of the dog. Another characteristic present in his drawing is that he drew himself facing the
viewer and smiling, which is the only way I have seen him draw people. All of these aspects of
his drawing fit within the expected characteristics of the Preschematic stage.
Andys drawing process also matched the Preschematic stage. He began with the head
and then slowly drew the arms and then the hands last, which fits with the gradual inclusion of
arms and details that is expected in this stage. His approach to drawing the hands is important in
analyzing his art developmental level as he drew them very quickly, they seem distorted, and as
he added them he resorted to scribbling. Among other aspects, his inclusion of hands shows that
he is pretty far along in the Preschematic stage, however it is clear that he did not know how to
approach a realistic shape for a hand and instead scribbled an approximation in the right
placement. In the Preschematic stage the size of the objects are not expected to be in proportion
to one another, and while the hands in Andys drawing are much larger than they should be,
almost all of the other aspects and objects in the picture are proportionate to each other. Another
feature that promotes the idea that Andy is far into the Preschematic stage is his addition of
clothes and hair, which are details that are not expected until close to the end of the stage. There
are also some characteristics of the next developmental stage, the Schematic stage, evident in
Andys drawing. According to Lowenfeld and Brittain (1970), Andys development of his dog
form, and ability to repeat it again and again, is generally part of the Schematic stage (p. 476).
Andy was also able to avoid overlapping and drew arms and legs in the correct placement that
showed volume rather than drawing stick figures, as many children in the early to mid
Preschematic stage would.

Qualitative Research: Childrens Art Development

Analyzing Andys drawing using the art developmental stages theory from the Board of
Education of Baltimore County (1974) places Andy most generally in the embellishing symbols
stage (p. 3). In the embellishing symbols stage, children are expected to draw objects that interest
them with details added only to the areas of the drawing that are of the most importance to the
child. This characteristic is very clear in Andys drawing as his inclusion of details is almost
exclusive to his head and face. Even though they are not very comprehensive, the fact that he
added hair and facial features shows more detail than the rest of the drawing, especially
considering his omission of feet. According to Piaget (1973), Andy is psychologically in the
Preoperational developmental stage and in this stage children are egocentric, so it is likely that
the presence of more detail on Andys head and face results from him placing more importance
on himself (p. 23). The stage following the embellishing symbols stage involves using the space
around the objects by adding various backgrounds, which is not evident at all in Andys drawing,
further supporting his placement in the embellishing symbols stage. Overall, Andy exhibits
characteristics that make it seem as though he is more advanced than most children his age,
based on his drawings and the drawing styles that I have observed of the other children in his
class.
Through the process of observing, analyzing, and recognizing developmental art stages, I
gained many meaningful experiences that will aid me in working with young artists in the future.
My findings show that analyzing characteristics to determine a childs art developmental level
results in learning many other important facts about that child. I also found that the stages of
development are generalizations based on common characteristics for each stage. As explained
by Mary Erickson and Bernard Young (1996), it is important to realize that there will be
variations because childrens art abilities develop in a parallel fashion to changes in their

Qualitative Research: Childrens Art Development

cognitive, emotional, social, and physical growth (p. 41). This investigation reinforces the
importance of child art development in the regular classroom. Understanding and thinking about
art causes growth in critical and creative thinking that can transfer to other content areas. Since
art promotes growth in all subjects, a students art developmental stage does not solely affect
their ability to make art. This means that by analyzing and identifying their students art
developmental stages, a regular classroom teacher is then better equipped to select appropriate
and effective lessons in all subjects.
As pre-service teachers, it is important for us to familiarize ourselves with art
developmental stages for future use in our classrooms. In analyzing, it is also important that we
do not look at the developmental stages as rigid, set ideas of what to expect. All children are
unique and it is important to analyze all aspects and factors in their life when planning what is
best for them. Elementary education teachers should utilize art integration with their core
curriculum. Planning appropriate, meaningful curriculum requires detailed knowledge of
students ability level. Since art is applicable and helpful in the understanding of all areas of
study, understanding a students art developmental stage is a good indicator of their abilities that
stretch across many content areas. Not only would art integration provide more opportunities to
observe students developmental stage, but using art in the classroom also promotes critical
thinking skills. The ability to think critically and creatively is a skill that promotes deeper
thinking, understanding, inquiry, and successful discoveries. Utilizing art in the classroom
promotes the growth of cognitive skills that students can apply to all aspects of their education,
creating a more meaningful experience for both the student and the teacher.

Qualitative Research: Childrens Art Development

References
Eisner,Elliot.(2002).Theartsandthecreationofmind(pp.7092).NewHaven:Yale
University.

Erickson,M.&Young,B.(1996).Whateveryeducatorshould(butmaybedoesnt)know.
SchoolArts,96(2),4042.

Lowenfeld,V.&Brittain,W.L.(1970).Creativeandmentalgrowth(pp.475476).NewYork:
Macmillan.

Luehrman,M.&Unrath,K.(2006).Makingtheoriesofchildrensartisticdevelopment
meaningfulforpreserviceteachers.ArtEducation,59(3),612.

MarylandBoardofEducationofBaltimoreCounty.(1974).Beginningstagesofvisual
expressionofyoungchildren.InArtExperience,DevelopmentofVisualPerception,14.

Piaget,J.(1973).MainTrendsinPsychology.London:GeorgeAllen&Unwin.