Young Children's Human Figure Drawing: cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies

Abstract Forty‐two children aged between 2 years and 4 years 11 months were asked to draw a person. Their drawings were categorised as (1) scribbles, (2) distinct forms, (3) tadpoles, (4) transitional and (5) conventional figures. The first representational figures, the tadpoles, appeared at an average age of 3 years 1 month. It was predicted that if tadpole figures result from the complexity of the task rather than from a conceptual difficulty then tasks with reduced demands (a copying task, a jig‐saw task, and a dictation task) should facilitate the drawing of conventional figures. In fact, few conventional figures were produced and the tadpole form was highly resistant across the different tasks.

Six of the children were followed longitudinally over a one‐year period from a pre‐representational to a conventional stage of human figure drawing. Spontaneous drawings as well as drawings from six test sessions were collected in order to check whether all children drew ‘tadpole’ forms before they produced conventional figures and whether the conventional figures were adapted from the tadpoles. Four of the children did produce tadpole forms; two did not, but were probably specifically tutored in the conventional form by a peer or parents. There were wide individual differences in the nature of the transition from one form to the next, but there was no clear evidence that the conventional figure had been adapted from the tadpole form.     

Drawings of People by Australian Aboriginal Children: the Inter-mixing of Cultural Styles

The general developmental changes observed in human figure drawings of modern-day young children in western societies are reviewed in this paper. Differences in style over historical time and in other societies throw doubt on the notion of a fixed and universal pattern of development. Even so, children’s drawings seem to become more westernised as schooling has spread to more and more remote, rural societies. In Australia, however, the Warlpiri Aboriginal people have continued to use their traditional pictorial symbols in their paintings, sand drawings and school books; Warlpiri school-children use and develop both the indigenous and the westernised styles of drawing.     

Assessing the concordance between child reports and adult observations of single and mixed emotion in children’s drawings of themselves or another child

The present study assessed concordance between child reported and adult observed strategies to depict single and mixed emotion in the same human figure drawings. 205 children (104 boys, 101 girls) aged 6 years 2 months to 8 years 3 months formed two age groups (6 years 2 months–7 years 2 months and 7 years 3 months–8 years 3 months) across two conditions drawing either themselves or another child. They heard vignettes designed to elicit single and mixed emotion and drew a baseline drawing, counterbalanced happy and sad, and a mixed emotion drawing. Categories of children’s verbal reports and adults’ observations were similar with some variation of use by condition, age group and emotion type. Mixed emotion strategies were more similar to those observed and reported in happy drawings. Findings are discussed in relation to a framework theory of art and social display rules.     

Responding to children's drawings

This article aims to explore the issues that face primary school teachers when responding to children's drawings. Assessment in art and design is an ongoing concern for teachers with limited experience and confidence in the area and, although children's drawings continue to be a focus of much research, the question of what it is that teachers say to young children that has a positive impact on the development of their drawing is under-explored. The article aims to identify the components of what constitutes children's competence in observational drawing through a detailed analysis of a drawing made by a 6-year-old child. Connections between the teaching of drawing and the teaching of literacy are highlighted, and the article concludes that children who are able make confident representations of the visual world are better placed to express their own ideas, thoughts and experiences through art.     

Drawing and the Aestheticisation of the Human Figure by Four‐ to Ten‐Year‐Old Botswana Children: Implications for Pedagogy

Drawing is one of children's modes of communication which has recently excited academic inquiry in non‐Western cultures. It is the means through which children express their fears, desires, anxieties and conception of phenomena. This study investigated drawings by four‐ to ten‐year‐old Botswana children in response to the human figure as an aesthetic object. The methodology involved observing a sample of forty purposively selected children engaged in the drawing process and analysing their visual productions in addition to conversational talk about their art. The study found that the human figure was the dominant aesthetic subject across ages represented in both conventionalised form and personalised imagery. Older children showed interest in culture specific imagery and demonstrated mastery of occlusion and depth cues, while four‐year‐old children had limited spatial awareness. The study also found that children demonstrated gradual improvement of drawing skills with age. There was no significant difference in drawing competence between sexes. Pedagogical implications are suggested to scaffold children through the stages of art development.     

The relationship between drawing and oral language in deaf students aged three to five

This study examines the relationship between drawing and oral language acquisition in deaf students aged three to five. The sample is made up of one hundred participants: fifty deaf and fifty hearing children. Goodenough's Human Figure Drawing Test and the WPPSI Scale of Intelligence geometric design subtest have been used to evaluate graphic representation. The deaf participants' oral language has been assessed using the GAEL-P test. The main findings were that there were no significant differences between the populations studied in terms of graphic representation. The oral language level of the deaf population does not correlate with the level of their geometric designs, but does with the complexity of the drawing of the human figure at the age of 5. The main conclusion with respect to the relationship between oral language and figurative drawings suggests that different representations of symbolic functions should be integrated into children's education, especially in the case of deaf children.     

The Young Child's Pictorial Representation of the Human Figure

This study investigated reasons for the omission of the torso typical in most young children's drawings of the human figure. Do they have an incomplete mental image of the human figure; if so will the torso be omitted from a manikin task too? As the head is normally drawn first, is the torso simply forgotten; if so will children include it if they are asked to draw the torso first? Eighty tadpole‐drawers (aged between 2 years 7 months and 5 years) were randomly allocated to a drawing or a manikin condition; they were further subdivided into a head‐first or torso‐first condition. Significantly more children produced a conventional figure when they constructed a manikin compared with those who were asked to draw; the order of body parts (head‐first vs torso‐first) had no significant effect. These results suggest that young children omit the torso from their human figures because they have yet to devise a way of drawing it, perhaps because it is a relatively unimportant item; there is little evidence that they have simply forgotten it or that their mental model for the human figure is incomplete.     

Art instruction and the Goodenough-Harris drawing test in fifth-graders

The experiment was conducted to assess the effect of ordinary school art instruction in human figure drawing on scores of the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test. Subjects consisted of 44 fifth-grade students attending a suburban parochial school who were members of two preexisting, randomly assigned homeroom classes. Both classes were taught two lessons in art by their regular teachers. The treatment group was taught human figure drawing, and the control group had art lessons excluding figure drawing instruction. The Drawing Test was administered three times, one preinstruction and two postinstruction administrations. Absenteeism reduced treatment and control groups to 14 and 17 subjects, respectively. As predicted, no differences were found in the control group between pretest and postests. The treatment group showed significant gains on both posttests, as well as a significant decline from the first posttest to the second posttest.     

Children’s Drawing,Self Expression,Identity and the Imagination

Directions, Volume 18 Number 1 [1] suggests that postmodern theory is beginning to have a significant effect upon educational practice. Atkinson [2] has directed attention towards the effects of both the construction of the subject and the real within art teaching. Much postmodern theory challenges the unitary, pre–existing subject. This paper will argue that the persistence of an ideology of self–expression which asserts that all representation is in connection with (should be read in relation to) a singular, pure, pre–existing self acts to limit our understandings of the complexity of children’s representations and is in conflict with many contemporary positions. Research has centred on the development of ‘out of school’ sketchbooks. Large sketchbooks were given out to nursery and reception children paired with older siblings in primary education. Possible drawing activities and interests were discussed and children were left to develop the sketchbooks at home. Two weeks later (including a half term holiday) the children were interviewed in relation to the drawings developed. The drawings have been considered in relation to contemporary approaches to self and identity. The conclusions of this paper revolve around the possibilities of reading children’s drawing in relation to self and identity through the interaction of social context, discursive practice and agency in a manner which is suggested by Ricouer’s formulation of the social imaginary. Additionally, the substitution of tenacious notions of expression with concepts of agency and contingency grounded in the characteristics of ‘citationality’, articulation and narrative are suggested as a basis for developing the educational potential of drawing.     

Drawing with Children: An Experiment in Assisted Creativity

This report outlines the cognitive accomplishments of young children involved in graphic dialogue with adults. A token of collaborative drawing is examined exhibiting the degree to which adult informed tutoring enabled children in their drawing development, enhanced their motivation and ability in narration and resulted in drawings meaningful to them. The case studies examined are the result of a three‐year research project conducted by undergraduate students of Athens University Department of Early Childhood Education under the supervision of the author of this article. This game‐like pedagogical strategy is inspired by L. Vygotsky's educational philosophy and based on B. & M. Wilson's model of adult–child graphic dialogue. It is understood as a method of instructing drawing enabling children to pass from that which they can achieve alone to that which they can accomplish with adult assistance. This educational approach answers to a call for a more socially accountable art education addressing the child's need to deal with issues he encounters in his everyday life and as such is open to adult and cultural interference. A similar educational approach intends to challenge the long‐standing, non‐interventionist art educational theory also known as ‘child art’ and its contention that a prerequisite for a creative individual is expression free from social and adult influence.     

Signs,symbols and schemas: understanding meaning in a child’s drawings

This paper examines the schematic underpinnings in the drawings of a four-year-old girl, Thea. The paper reviews literature on graphic representations, signs and meaning-making before discussing schematic form in children’s drawings, the theoretical background for the study. The paper discusses ethical issues and methodological approaches to the study where data include drawings made at home and school, Thea’s recorded talk about drawings, and video recordings of her drawing sessions over a four-month period. These were coded manually and using NVivo to identify schemas. The paper discusses examples of Thea’s exploration of enclosure and trajectory schematic form, which are represented by rich content derived from her experiences and imagination. The paper concludes that Thea’s drawings included many schematic signifiers with clear evidence of complex thinking around enclosures and of vertical and horizontal trajectories. The paper evidences the importance of listening to children’s talk as they draw in order to understand more fully, the meanings they are making. Through signs, symbols and personal narratives, Thea used drawing as a meaningful semiotic space where her persistent schematic concerns were manifest.     

Teaching Children to Draw in the Infants School

We report an approach to the teaching of drawing in the Infants school which involves children in observing real objects set in context and discussion and negotiation with the teacher of ways in which the objects might be drawn. We also report the findings of an evaluation study which showed an improvement in the drawings when children experienced the ‘negotiated drawing’ approach compared with those taught in a more conventional way.     

A Review of Children's,Teachers' and Parents' Influences on Children's Drawing Experience

In this article we argue that research into children's drawings should consider the context in which drawing occurs and that it is crucial to investigate the attitudes and practices of teachers, parents and children themselves that shape children's drawing experience and the drawings which they produce. We review the findings of seven empirical studies reporting data collected through direct observations, interviews and questionnaires from the three main players (teachers, parents and children) on the attitudes and practices shaping children's drawing. Issues covered include teachers' perceptions of the purposes and importance of drawing, support offered by teachers, parents and children for children's drawing endeavours, and possible factors that may lead to an age‐related decline in the amount of drawing children choose to do. We end the review by reporting some preliminary findings from our own large‐scale interview and survey study of 270 5–14 year old children, their parents and teachers, that provides a comprehensive assessment of attitudes and practices influencing children's drawing experience at home and at school. The findings provide further insight into the aforementioned issues, particularly children's, teachers' and parent's explanations of why children's drawing behaviour might decline with age. It is hoped that by reporting these preliminary findings some additional understanding of the context in which children produce their drawings can be gained and new areas for debate opened up.     

Judgement and production of drawings by 3- to 10-year-olds: Comparison of declarative and procedural drawing knowledge

In this experiment, 80 children between the ages of three and ten produced and judged drawings of a person and a house. Two alternative hypotheses were tested. Under the first hypothesis, young children have internal models of persons and objects which are comparable to those of adults, but they have problems implementing their knowledge and planning and managing the graphic activity. If this hypothesis is true, we should obtain an interaction between age and type of task (production vs. judgement). Under the second hypothesis, children’s drawings are a direct reflection of their internal models of the items drawn. This hypothesis predicted a significant positive correlation between performance on production and judgement. In the judgement task, the subjects were presented with pairs of drawings and asked to indicate the more elaborate drawing. For the house and the man drawing, children by the age of three were able to correctly determine the most elaborated of the two presented drawings. A strong interaction was obtained between age and type of task (production or judgement), due to the fact that the difference between production performance and judgement performance decreases with age. The discussion suggests a limited cognitive capacity hypothesis to account for the results, and proposes some possibilities for future studies.     

How Drawing is Taught in Chinese Infant Schools

The benefits of drawing for children are wide‐ranging but are likely to be mediated by the art curriculum and other governmental guidance to teachers relevant to drawing/art. Furthermore, such statutory regulations vary between cultures, and therefore curricula represent an important influence on the cultural differences found in children's drawings. Previous articles on the teaching of drawing in Chinese schools have commented upon the emphasis placed on children copying from adult drawing models. However, a new art curriculum was implemented in Chinese infant schools (3–6‐year‐olds) in 2002, still in operation today, which instead places an emphasis on the children's enjoyment of drawing through making creative and expressive pictures from their imagination. This article describes the key objectives stated in the Chinese art curricula for infant schools. We also present an interview with a Chinese infant school teacher in which she provided in detail how the curriculum is typically applied to the teaching of drawing. The interview also provided some background context to why the curriculum was changed and to its delivery. The article comments on the pedagogical practices adopted, and comparisons are made with Western art education and, in particular, to the teaching of drawing/art in England for the same age group. Finally, we consider what implications the Chinese approach has for the ‘non‐interventionist’ approach to young children's drawing/art that is frequently found in Western art education.     

Reading with a Crayon: Pre-conventional Marginalia as Reader Response in Early Childhood

Child-produced marginalia, annotations written or drawn in the margins of a text by a young reader, have been stigmatized as devaluing the book on which it was created and often dismissed as “graffiti.” Recent historical studies of marginalia created by older children, those who have mastered conventional writing and drawing, have challenged this notion by looking at extratextual annotations as a means to understanding children’s diverse uses of books as both intellectual and physical objects. However, pre-conventional scribbles on books by very young children have not been explored as artifacts of emergent literacy practices or reader response. Yet, scholarship in the fields of literacy education, art education, early childhood education and theories of place suggest that children can develop expectations for books in the first few years of life and that their earliest drawing experiences show evidence of intentionality. This reader response study draws from video data of three-year-old Elijah and his eighteen-month-old sister, Hannah, to explore the production, of pre-conventional marginalia in early childhood. The findings of this study suggest that toddlers and preschool-aged children can understand books as distinct and pleasurable artifacts in their immediate environments, that the marks they make in their picturebooks are evidence of reader response, that the act of drawing enables them to engage in a fictional landscape, and that pre-conventional marginalia can provide us with insight into very young children’s earliest aesthetic responses to texts.     

先天盲人人物绘画训练的个案研究

为探索先天盲人平面绘画特征及促进其人物画细节表现的美术教育方法,研究者以一名先天盲人为个案,通过作品分析发现：没有平面绘画经验的先天盲人能创作出可识别的人物画作品;先天盲人在二维平面内表现三维人物时存在困难,这种困难可能由缺乏平面绘画经验造成;使用有触觉反馈的绘画工具,提供一定社会文化刺激后,上述状况能够得到显著改善.     

Pre‐schoolers’ feature placement on own and others’ person drawings

Young children find meaning in the drawings they create that may not be apparent to an adult observer. The purpose of this study is to access the children’s views using a drawing change task. Seventy‐three pre‐schoolers were asked to draw a person and then draw a person with a belly button. It was anticipated that tadpole (no separate body) drawers would include a body to accommodate this new feature. Instead belly buttons were included without modifications to the figure suggesting that in the children’s view tadpole figures are not as deficient as they might appear. When placing a belly button on a figure drawn by someone else 40% of tadpole drawers responded differently compared to their own. Possible explanations considered are the effect of active involvement in creating a drawing, the respect for another’s drawing intention, and lack of awareness of differences due to working memory limitations.     

Drawing Development: From Similarity of Features to Direction

Children often are said to pass through a series of stages in learning to represent 3-dimensional objects, such as cubes, on a 2-dimensional picture surface. Drawings of cubes from 1,734 children and adults were collected. They were classified into 10 drawing types (5 distinguished by Willats, and some additional types, one taken from Caron-Pargue). Over 80% of 5-year-olds produced a single square to represent a cube. Also, over 80% of 14- and 15-year-olds and over 80% of adults produced a parallel-projection drawing. However, there are several routes between these two milestones of drawing development, since no other drawing type captured more than 23% of the drawings at any age between 6 and 13. It is instructive that some children produced drawings that never were made by any of the adults, while some adults produced drawings of cubes that young children did not. We suggest that these differences between children and adults show that the younger children use a similarity geometry with "feature-based" criteria, while the older children and adults use a vantage-point geometry that includes "direction-based" criteria.     

Learning to Draw and Drawing to Learn

Young children enter formal schooling with a repertoire of modes of representation with which they try to make sense of the world – drawing, modelling, role play, storying, emergent literacy and numeracy. In drawing they use mark making for kinesthetic pleasure and later learn to repeat patterns and shapes intentionally. From these repeated marks they begin to explore the potential of drawings to represent what they know. A parallel set of drawing strategies with an explicit communicative function develop through social relationships at home or in pre-school/care settings. Children observe and mimic modes of representation and absorb the semiotics modelled by adults or older children in the community/culture[s] in which they are reared. On entering formal school, the messages children receive from the culture of classrooms is that the modes of representation that are valued are the formal symbolic modes of literacy and numeracy whereas teachers perceive drawing as useful for occupational or recreational purposes. Ironically, as children are cultured into ‘academic’ achievements, they lose out on opportunities to engage in alternative modes of representation/symbolic systems, which may offer opportunities for cognitive challenge at higher levels. Thus, whilst pushing children to perform ‘academically’ in the early stages of schooling, we underestimate them ‘intellectually’. At elementary school level children’s mark-making is shaped into a ‘catch-all’, narrative/representational style of drawing across all subjects. Children often elect to explore their own personal, culturally specific ways of drawing outside school as ‘home art’. In school their capabilities in using alternative modes of representation as tools for learning wither away.