Designs for making a tree: An ethnographic study of young children's work in the visual arts

A two month ethnographic study was conducted in a classroom where children were engaged in project work. Project work is an innovative curriculum approach in which small groups of children investigate a topic of interest to them. Children use the visual arts to express themselves and represent their learning during a project. Children in the study ranged in age from 3 to 5 years from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. The pattern and components of children's artwork were analyzed using videotaping, photos and field notes. Three questions guided this study: What types of art do children make? Is there a pattern of progression in children's art? What is the purpose of children's work with visual art materials?;Findings suggest the children created within four domains and fifteen subsets of visual arts. While there was a progressive pattern of children's artwork from simple to complex, experience was found to play an important role in this progression. In addition, children did not leave behind earlier ways of expressing themselves through the visual arts. Instead, they built a repertoire of the domains and subsets of types of visual arts to choose from. Findings also suggest that children create art works to meet developmental needs of mastery, belonging, generosity and independence.