Running head: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REPORT

Qualitative Research Report

Jessica Bangert
University of Missouri

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REPORT

Qualitative Research Report

You can find out a lot about a student from their artwork because it is a way to
express them selves without having to talk about their feelings. According to Elliot
Eisner, The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are
invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic
capacities to find the words that will do the job. (Eisner, 2002, p.3).
Just like many other subjects in school, art goes through stages as well.
Lowenfeld, a childrens art advocate, believes that there are six stages in art development
and each stage has characteristics that make it unique to the certain stage. The first stage
is the Scribbling stage, which is the beginning of self-expression. This stage is normally
from the ages of two to four years old and has disordered scribbling, controlled
scribbling, or named scribbling. (Lowenfeld & Brittian, 1970, p. 46-51). The next stage
happens at the age of four to seven and is called the Preschematic stage, which has its
first attempts at representing something. (Lowenfeld & Brittian, 1970, p. 46-51).
Lowenfelds third stage is the Schematic stage. This stage happens at the ages of seven to
nine years old and in this stage they achieve a form of concept in their artwork.
(Lowenfeld & Brittian, 1970, p. 46-51). The Gang Age is the fourth stage that happens
primarily at the ages nine to twelve and during this stage children start to show realism in
their artwork. (Lowenfeld & Brittian, 1970, p. 46-51). At the age of twelve to fourteen,
most kids are in the Pseudo-Naturalistic stage, which is the age of reasoning. (Lowenfeld
& Brittian, 1970, p. 46-51). The last stage is the Adolescent Art, which is the period of
decision. During this stage students are primarily fourteen to seventeen years old and
have developed artistic skills. (Lowenfeld & Brittian, 1970, p. 46-51).

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REPORT

Method

This study was conducted in an elementary school 3 rd grade classroom. I had

asked to take a student out of the class and have the student draw a picture for me. I
brought crayons, markers, and colored pencils with me so the student had a choice on
what to use. I then prompted the student by asking them to draw a picture of their family
for me and gave them time to draw.
Findings
The artwork that the student made is of six people that are representative of the
students family. The student put meaning behind each color he chose for his family
members hair color, shirt, pants, and if they were wearing a hat or not. The student also
put thought into how each of his family members hair was going to look by the color. His
mom and brother have red hair, so both of their hair was drawn with a red crayon. His
other brother, who is much older, is drawn wearing a hat because he always wears hats.
Him and his other brother both have blonde hair so he used a yellow crayon to draw that.
Finally his dad is bald so, he drew him with no hair. Another thing that stood out when he
was drawing his family was that he said his mom hates to wear dresses, so that is why she
would not be wearing a dress like he would draw other girls.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REPORT

Figure 1: Example
of Schematic stage
drawing

The students artwork would show that he is in the Schematic stage of

Lowenfelds stages because his drawing is bold, direct, and a flat representation.
(Lowenfeld & Brittain, 1970, p. 48). A characteristic of this stage is development of a
form concept which is repeated again and again. (Lowenfeld & Brittain, 1970, p. 48). In
his picture, he drew each person of his family exactly the same. They all have very large
hands, a long skinny neck, pants, a t-shirt, and shoes. Another characteristic of the stage
is, the body is made up of geometric shapes, and that arms and legs show volume and
are correctly placed on the body. (Lowenfeld & Brittain, 1970, p. 48). When drawing the
members of his family, he drew his oldest brother the biggest because he was the tallest.
During this stage, proportions depend on emotional values. (Lowenfeld & Brittain,
1970, p. 48). He talked about his oldest brother the most when describing his family. This
could mean that his brother is the most influential in his life. These characteristics of this
stage are apparent in the students work. In this students artwork, his space representation
makes it seem that he could also be in the Preschematic stage because his family
members are floating around the page and he has not established a baseline and skyline.
He has three family members drawn above three other family members. (Lowenfeld &

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REPORT

Brittain, 1970, p. 47). The bold, flat representation, concept being repeated over and over
again, geometric shapes, arms and legs show volume, and body parts placed correctly on
the body, all are characteristics showing he is in the schemantic stage.
According to Kellog, there are twenty basic scribbles that are the building blocks
of art, and they are important because they permit a detailed and comprehensive
description of the work of young children. (Kellogg, 1970, p. 39). In his art piece there
is use of the basic scribbles such as, scribble 1, scribble 8, and scribble 7. The student
used scribble one to represent his family members eyes. He used scribble 7 for multiple
family members hair, and scribble 8 to represent his brother hair coming out of the hat.
The placement of the scribbles 1, 7, and 8 add functions to the picture such as, eyes and
hair. The student used these scribbles as a way to add detail to his art piece.
Conclusion
It is extremely important to have knowledge of art education and to incorporate it
into the classroom. A lot of teachers do not put as much emphasis on art education
because it is not tested like other core subjects. Teachers need to understand that creative
thought and art works are not adequately assessed by standardized tests. Most
standardized tests are paper-and-pencil, one right answer. (Jalongo, p.120). Teachers
need to place more value one art education because it is a great way for students to
express themselves. Incorporating art into core subject lessons will get students interested
in learning.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REPORT

References
Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind, In Chapter 4. What the arts Teach
and How it Shows. (p. 70-92). Yale University Press.
Jalongo M. & Narey M. Assessing the Creative Processes and Products of Children,
Chapter 9. (p.117-121).
Kellogg, R. (1970). Analyzing childrens art. Palo Alto, CA: National.
Lowenfeld, V., & Brittain, W.L. (1970). Creative and mental growth. New York:
Macmillan.