I report on a phenomenological investigation into teacher experiences of generating and interpreting drawings during their participation in the Resilient Educators (REds) intervention. All 18 teacher participants came from rural communities challenged by HIV&AIDS. I reflect critically on the ambivalence in teacher experiences of drawings 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…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the phenomenon of alienation in physical education from the perspectives of children. Of particular interest were children's perspectives about the three constructs of alienation: (a) powerlessness, (b) meaninglessness, and (c) social isolation, as defined by Carlson (1995). A case study…

Non-curricular avenues such as active play during school breaks have been established as a major source for children's physical and cognitive development, yet there is little information for teachers on the influences affecting primary and secondary school students' non-curricular physical activity. During this study focus groups and drawing were…

Child drawing, known as language of thinking, is as an effective tool of expression as written language. The use of paper, composition, and colors are meaningful for professionals. In this research, it is intended to determine the primary school students' perception of the school and schemas with their drawings of school. Case study which is one…

Early childhood research and policy, globally, are focusing increasingly on issues of "quality" in early childhood education. However, much of the focus to date has been on adult notions of quality, with little attention being devoted to children's accounts. Conducted in the context of early childhood education in Verona, Italy, this…

Dynamic visualizations can make unseen phenomena such as chemical reactions visible but students need guidance to benefit from them. This study explores the value of generating drawings versus selecting among alternatives to guide students to learn chemical reactions from a dynamic visualization of hydrogen combustion as part of an online inquiry…

The aim of this article is to explore aspiration in contemporary urban locations in the context of almost universal policy initiatives to raise aspirations of young people to participate in higher education. The article is based on a study of how children's career and further education aspirations are shaped over time in five schools in western…

The Aztec Sun Stone is a revered Mexican artifact. It is said to be perhaps the most famous symbol of Mexico, besides its flag. It primarily depicts the four great disasters that led to the migration of the Mexica people to modern-day Mexico City. The Aztec Sun Stone also contains pictographs depicting the way the Mexica measured time, and was…

Foil can be shaped into almost anything--it is the all-purpose material for children's art. Foil is a unique drawing surface. It reflects, distorts and plays with light and imagery as young artists draw over it. Foil permits quick impressions of a model or object to be sketched. Foil allows artists to track their drawing moves, seeing the action…

This article describes an art project that allows students to create a joint community on paper. Through this project, students create imaginary villages by looking first at various architectural styles and then look at the different ways contemporary artists portray communities or architecture focusing on village scenes. The inspiration for this…

This paper describes a study conducted with 235 children from Brazil and Switzerland. The children, from 5 to 13 years of age, were asked to draw the journey they undertake every day from home to school. The purpose of the study is to understand the relationship between the cognitive development and map-drawing abilities of children in both…

Abstraction can be hard for older students to understand, and it usually involves simplifying or rearranging natural objects to meet the needs of the artist, whether it be for organization or expression. But, in reality, that is what young artists do when they draw from life. They do not have enough experience--and sometimes the patience--to see…

Sometimes, the inspiration for an art idea comes from the strangest and most unexpected places! The author wanted to provide students in grades 5-7 in a fine-arts module an opportunity to be creative in a unique and inexpensive way, while incorporating a three-dimensional element. Since she personally enjoys thumbing through "Architectural…

The author's fifth-graders are usually easy to motivate, especially with an assignment as exciting as dragons and mythical beasts! Since many of the author's projects are "typical" subjects such as flowers, animals, still life and so on, the idea of creating mythical creatures really caused a stir in her classroom. In this article, the author…