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New research into the art of expression

July 26, 2002

New research, which could have far reaching implications for the teaching of art in schools, is set to be carried out at Staffordshire University.

The Leverhulme Trust has awarded Staffordshire University £31,723 to examine what develops and why in British children`s expressive drawing.

The research project is being undertaken by Dr Richard Jolley from the Psychology department at Staffordshire University and Dr Maureen Cox of the University of York.

This will involve 240 schoolchildren aged between four and 14 who will be set a series of tasks - one of which is to produce three expressive drawings (happy, sad and angry). Each drawing will then be assessed by artists on the number of different expressive techniques used and on its overall expressive quality.

Dr Jolley said: "There are a number of different ways children can express moods or ideas and we will examine each of those. There`s literal expression which might show a person happy or sad. There`s also metaphorical expression where a sad house might be shown as crumbling, or where formal properties such as colour, line and size have been used expressively."

The researchers will also be seeking to determine the reason for individual differences, looking specifically at a child`s metaphor
comprehension, working memory and drawing skill.

The research, which is the first of its kind in Britain, is an extension of a preliminary study carried out by Dr Jolley which revealed that while children`s expressive drawing did improve with age, there was a stagnation between six and nine years of age.

"There are a number of possible explanations if children`s expressive drawings do indeed develop slowly," said Dr Jolley. "For instance, it is known that children between those ages strive for realism in their pictures, and want their drawings to look like a photograph. In doing
so they may give little attention or desire to practising expressive skills."

But he explained that research carried out in America had shown that there was no improvement at all in expressive drawing amongst schoolchildren from five years of age onwards. He added, "This is not good for art education but as yet, no research has been done on this in Britain pre or post National Curriculum. My concern is that art is considered a fill-in subject, and in primary schools most children are not taught by an art specialist."

Dr Jolley, who completed his PhD at Birmingham University on
`Children`s production and understanding of expressive drawing` in 1995, and Dr. Cox who has had extensive experience researching children`s drawings, intend to send a report on the Leverhulme-funded research to education watchdog OFSTED, to the Department for Education and Skills, and the National Society for Education in Art and Design. They will also present their findings in academic journals
and conferences.

The research `What develops and why in British children`s expressive drawing` will be conducted at Staffordshire University between September 2002 and August 2003.

Staffordshire University