Abstract:
Children’s drawing activities continue to attract the attention of researchers
globally. While a plethora of previous studies have examined the influence of
children’s drawing activities on their social and cognitive development, children’s
drawing activities and outcomes have also been interpreted by various studies. The
current study examined the environmental influence on the drawings of lower
primary school children (7-10 years) in selected districts, municipalities and
metropolis in Ghana. It adopted qualitative inquiry approach guided by multiple
case study design. Using expert, homogenous and heterogeneous purposive
sampling techniques, the study gathered triangulated data from a total of twenty four (24) informants comprising; school children, cultural coordinators, teachers
and parents/adult caretakers. Data collection instruments included; semi-structured
interviews, field observations, spontaneous and directed drawing activities. An in depth thematic analysis of the data reveals that each of the different realities of the
children’s environment have some influence on their drawings, with the most
obvious being the common reality as the drawings of the children mainly depicted
tangible objects in their schools, home and immediate physical environment. Also,
there was a variance across the districts indicating that children in different parts of
Ghana have different capabilities in what they are able to draw. In conclusion, the
study contends that children’s self-efficacies and diverse environmental realities
greatly influence their drawing capabilities and outcomes. The study, therefore,
recommends that teachers and parents/caretakers in the study area should take note
of children’s unique self-efficacies and diverse environmental realities and provide
the convenient environment that nurtures their drawing capabilities.
Description:
A dissertation in the Department of Music Education, School of Creative Arts,
submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Arts and Culture)
in the University of Education, Winneba