Reviewing Lownveld [sic] : the schematic development of children in the twenty first century

Johnson, Sandra Mary

Reviewing Lownveld [sic] : the schematic development of children in the twenty first century

Master Thesis

2004

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

School of Education

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

When children discover the ability to make marks, a journey of exploration begins that is both fascinating and inevitable. One could almost believe that they have attended inter-uterine art instruction. According to Viktor Lowenfeld the intentional, spontaneous drawing of children follows a typical development that appears structured and predictable. The understanding of these developmental stages has formed an important part of the training of primary school art teachers at the Cape Town College of Education for decades, and is currently still used in teacher-training in the Cape Technikon Education Faculty. Schirrmaker states that there are a number of theories of artistic development of children, which may fall into physical, emotional, perceptual, cognitive, general developmental or cognitive developmental categories. These theories equip us with an understanding of the child's development, offer appropriate expectations, assist in the planning of the art programme, and give a framework for assessment and evaluation. Viktor Lowenfeld offered a series of stages that belong to the category of General Development. Art teachers are provided with a visual record of the child's cognitive, emotional, creative and physical development, and are thus able to create meaningful learning experiences. The beginnings of abstract understanding are given visual form. Children show developing awarenesses of selves in a world that is challenging and strange. Awarenesses of human relationships are set out in complicated array against a simple white ground. These spontaneous drawings are children's attempts to communicate the meaning that they are in the process of making of their worlds. If we asked children to verbalise these understandings of their worlds, they would be limited to their own vocabularies, and would struggle to include the variety, the detail and the rich information contained in their spontaneous drawings. They would also not be able to tell us that they have reached the stage where they can begin to understand abstract relationships, and are therefore ready to learn to read. They would not be able to include that their perceptions of themselves have changed sufficiently to enable them to understand that they form part of the world, part of society, and are therefore ready to start formal schooling. As they grow, they would not be able to impart the way they feel about their worlds any more eloquently than their drawings tell us. As children develop physically and intellectually, their development is revealed in their drawings. In 1947, these creative stages of development were recognised, named and recorded by Viktor Lowenfeld, an art educator working in America. Since then, they have become a guide for art educators in the Western Cape, and are used as a basis for curriculum planning. In South Africa, a new curriculum is currently being introduced into schools, and is still in its infancy. It seems an ideal time to test the theories of Lowenfeld against the drawings of children who will be the first learners of Transformative Outcomes-Based Education.

Description

Includes bibliographical references.

Keywords

Education

Reference:

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