Gender and Preferred Content in Childrens Drawing among Selected Primary School Children - Article Example

Article Summary on “Gender and Preferred Content in Children’s Drawing among Selected Primary School Children in Zaria Metropolis, Kaduna University Date Article Summary on “Gender and Preferred Content in Children’s Drawing among Selected Primary School Children in Zaria Metropolis, Kaduna State” In order to enhance children’s motivation and interest in artistic performance, there is a need to better understand the role that gender plays in children’s artistic development. Although there have been numerous studies, with the pioneering one dating back to the 1920s, they have not been able to fully and validly address how gender affects children’s preferred content and how gender is translated into the children’s drawings’ form and style. For instance, while Goodenough’s initial study on gender and children’s drawings in 1926 found that girls drew “better” than boys when it comes to proportion and detail, it has just raised more questions than it has given answers. Critics like Scott point out that the determinants for superiority is lacking, as the drawings were judged only by their proportion and detail, and not by the elements, form and style of the drawing. However, Goodenough’s study opened the way for more interest in studying the effects gender has on children’s artistic outputs. But it seems that the more researchers study gender’s role in children’s drawings, the more questions are asked, which should be looked at as a positive event as validated studies proving that gender certainly has an influence on how children draw pictures in detail, proportion, form, and style and children’s approach to drawing, subject preference, and content. However, there are still gaps in the study, especially in areas concerning the effect of gendered styles in artistic development. Statement of the Problem Although there have been many studies that explore the part that gender plays in the various aspects of children’s art, there have been no validated studies in Nigeria that has been able to adequately explain the relationship between gender and children’s drawing preferences. It is important to note that gender differences are situated in a socio-cultural context. Hence, what might be true for the studies that have been conducted mainly in the United States, Canada and the U.K. might not be true for Nigeria, which has different social and cultural norms. This study’s goal is to be able to fill the gaps in the research on the effect of gender on children’s preferred drawing content, specifically in Zaria, Nigeria. Review of Literature During the latter part of the nineteenth century, child development studies began to focus more on child art as various scientists and researchers found that it represents a critical phase in child development in that art can be an effective tool in developing positive attitudes and skills in children (Oluremi, 2010, p. 3174). The learning experiences that art provides can positively contribute to the quality of life of children as they grow into adults (Olorukooba, 1981 as cited in Oluremi, p. 3175). Six characteristics—line, color, shape, texture, space and composition—were then identified as essential to the study of art abilities in children (Lark-Horovitz and Norton, 1959 as cited in Oluremi, 2010, p. 3175). As child development psychologists attempt to improve student curriculum, it was found that gender issues, in the form of male supremacy, still plague most classrooms at present (Garber, 2003 as cited in Oluremi, 2010, p. 3175). Likewise, gender bias and stereotyping also permeate the social and cultural environment of children, which have been found to affect children’s play and preferences (Bussey and Baridura, 1992; Huston, 1983 as cited in Oluremi, 2010, p. 3176). Consequently, gender issues in art education, as art is an essential part of both education and child development, have continued to interest many scientists and researchers (Blaikie, 2003; Anderson, 1994 as cited in Oluremi, 2010, p. 3177). Throughout the decades, “drawing has been undeniably recognized as one of the most important ways that children express themselves and has been linked to the expression of personality and emotion” (Malchiodi, 1998; Kaufman, 1966; Read, 1945 as cited in Oluremi, 2010, p. 3177). A child’s development is then expressed in the art he or she creates as he or she grows older. “Knowledge of the developmental stages in childrens art is essential to sensitive guidance;” hence, it is important to know how to interpret children’s art and know what factors influence their drawings in order to nurture creativity and make it a valuable asset in their development (p. 3178). Methodology This study uses a true experiment methodology through the two-group pretest posttest design. 220 students (110 girls and 100 boys) between the ages of 10 to 12 years were randomly selected from 11 primary schools in the Zaria Metropolis of Kaduna State. This specific age range was determined because this age group “become[s] very interested in depicting what they perceive to be realistic elements in their drawings” (Malchiodi, 1998 as cited in Oluremi, 2010, p. 3181). All of the schools selected randomly through the “Hat -Trick-Method” have similar characteristics and offer more than satisfactory art classes, with complete access to and/or provision of art materials and qualified art teachers. Participants were indiscriminately and equally divided into the control and experimental groups. All of the respondents were subjected to a pretest, which shows that the participants have fairly equal academic characteristics, which make them ideal for the study. After the pretest, the experimental group received lessons on formal characteristics of drawing, while the control group was given instruction using the Traditional Method, which lasted for six weeks. Both groups’ lessons include “line, shape, texture, space, composition as basic characteristic of formal drawing” (p. 3179). After the six weeks instruction and learning period, the participants were given the posttest to determine if teaching methods influenced the children’s drawing and if gender characteristics—which has remained constant—were overruled by the experimental treatment. Data Collection The Art Instructional Rating Scale of Drawing Characteristics (AIRSDC), Turnans Narrative Drawing Test for children ages 6-12 for the measurement of gender-specific preferences in image drawing, the Checklist Rating Scale on Conceptual Contents in Drawings (CRSCCD), and the characteristics/elements of art and scoring sheet for jurors were the four research instruments used for data collection (p. 3180). Reliability for these research instruments were measured using the Spearman-Brown split-half method and computed through the SPSS programme. Inter-rater reliability was measured independently for content and formal characteristics (p. 3182). These four instruments were presented to “a panel of 5 jurors [the researcher, two male art teachers and two female art teachers] who specialize in creative arts at the primary level for vetting and assessing the face and content validity” (p. 3181). These five jurors, all highly qualified, professionally and academically, scored all of the drawings made by the children both in pretest and posttest. Each drawing was rated three times, with the third time being the final assessment that meticulously takes into consideration the gaps in the scoring of the previous two judges. Test of Hypotheses and Discussion Hypothesis 1 states that “there is no significant gender difference in drawing contents chosen by boys and girls” (p. 3183). This was tested using the ANOVA: single factor method. Results of the computational analysis show that the hypothesis is rejected with the critical F value (3.28) is less than the calculated F value (7.181). It has been found that boys tend to draw fantastical imageries, while girls are more realistic in their drawings (p. 3183). Hypothesis 2, which states that “there is no significant difference between the way boys and girls use formal characteristics in forming drawings,” is likewise rejected through a t-test for equality of variance (p. 3183). Results show that the value critical value of .009 is less than the calculated value of .583 (p. 3183). This hypothesis was rejected for lines, texture, form, colour and composition. However, it was retained in the use of formal characteristics of space in drawings (p. 3184). Hypothesis 3 states that “there are no inter-relationship between form and content in the drawing of boys and girls” (p. 3185). Using the Chi-square test, the researcher proposed to retain the null hypothesis as computational results show that there is a relationship between content and elements of form; however, no significant data was found that suggests that these two factors are gender-based related. Hypothesis 4, which states that “there is no significant difference between the drawing of boys and girls in terms of their gender characteristics,” is supported graphical analysis shows that there is a substantial difference between the drawings of boys and girls based on gender characteristics (p. 3187). It is supported, then, that gender characteristics influence the content of children’s drawings. Major Findings and Conclusion The study found that gender has an influential link in the preferred content, the use of the different elements of art, and the thematic direction of children’s drawing. The study also found that children’s drawings are a reflection of their feelings, their desires, and consequently, their personalities. Because gender is irrevocably intertwined with the formation of a child’s personality, the correlation being established and strengthened by social and cultural factors—for instance, the socially acceptable norm that the color blue is masculine, while the color pink is feminine—it can be logically concluded that gender also affects the way children draw. The manifestation of gender characteristics in children’s drawings are also reinforced by exposure to various media content, like television, gaming, and the internet. Furthermore, the study discovered that “most teachers in the schools selected seem not to be aware of the concept of creativity hence it cannot be nurtured” (p. 3189). In general, the study revealed that there is indeed a relationship between gender and children’s preferred content in drawing. Factors that strengthen the influence of gender in the content of children’s drawing are poor motivation, poor instructional style and gender socialization (p. 3189). Hence, these factors must be addressed in order to limit the effect of gender on children’s creativity. In this way, children’s creativity can fully be harnessed and developed. Reference Oluremi, A. M. (2010, December). Gender and Preferred Content in Children’s Drawing among Selected Primary School Children in Zaria Metropolis, Kaduna State. Gender & Behaviour, 8(2), 3168-3199. Read More