Thesis Abstract

<p> This study sought to establish the relationship between Gender and Preferred<br>Content in Children’s Drawing. A total of 220 pupils stratified into 110 males and<br>110 females drawn from eleven randomly selected primary schools in Zaria<br>metropolis were used for the study. Four research questions were raised and four<br>null hypotheses were generated. A narrative adopted from Tuman’s (1999) study,<br>was validated by experts in the department of Fine Art Ahmadu Bello University,<br>Zaria Kaduna state of Nigeria and used as a major tool for data collection. Chisquare<br>(ײ), cross tabulation, ANOVA and t-test were used for the analyses related<br>to the null hypotheses. A histogram was also used for the distribution of the scores<br>explaining the scores on formal characteristics used by the subjects in the study<br>by sex. The results revealed that none of the four null hypotheses was retained; all<br>the hypotheses were rejected. However, the results revealed that there were<br>significant differences in the drawing content chosen by boys and girls. It also<br>showed that there were significant differences between the way boys and girls use<br>lines, colour, shape, texture, space and composition; there were inter-relationships<br>in the forms and content of drawings of boys and girls and there were significant<br>differences between the drawings of boys and girls in terms of gender<br>characteristics. The findings revealed that girls exceeded the boys in the use of<br>elements of art. It is recommended that provision be made for tests and activities<br>that would allow pupils to think and ask questions that would lead to discoveries<br>and motivate learners to create drawings outside their gender characteristics. <br></p>

Thesis Overview

<p> 1.0. Background to the Study<br>1.1. Introduction<br>Gender – preferred characteristics of children’s drawing has been, for the<br>past century, an area of consistent research focus on children’s artistic<br>development (Tuman, 1999). The idea that the spontaneous drawings of young<br>children may throw light upon the psychology of child development and artistic<br>performance have also greatly influenced the objectives of art education and<br>teaching strategies (Garber,2003; Wagner– Ott,2002). The failure of many of<br>these studies to interpret findings (data) on children’s drawing in terms of gender<br>stereotyped content has often led to biased / wrong assumptions about the<br>possibility of gender differences in children’s drawing.<br>Thompson (2003) and Tuman (1999) cite Kerschensteiner’s (1905)<br>conclusions as an instance of failure to interpret data in terms of gender<br>appropriately. Kerschensteiner, who had earlier concluded that the drawing<br>abilities of boys were superior to those of girls, drew this conclusion based on his<br>analysis of children’s ability to show spatial relationships without considering the<br>different social interests such as fight or flowers in the drawing of boys and girls. It<br>is possible that Kerschensteiner’s conclusion, if examined, might have led him to<br>different conclusions.<br>Goodenough’s research (1926) on children’s drawings of human figure is<br>another study which highlights some of the problems associated with research<br>assumptions on gender and the analysis of data. Goodenough states that primary<br>– 18 –<br>school age girls performed significantly better than boys in their abilities to draw<br>the human figure in detail and proportion.<br>While this finding has been confirmed by American, English and Danish<br>researchers in later years, (Cox, 1993; Papadakis, 1989; Wilson 1977; Koppitz,<br>1968; Dale 1963), questions are still been asked as to whether these abilities are<br>derived from biological or psycho – cultural differences in the development of the<br>boys and girls used for the study. Scott (1981) argues against the findings of<br>Goodenough, that if these studies focused on elements of drawing and not detail<br>and proportion which are elements traditionally associated with girls’ drawings, the<br>study might have concluded that the drawings of boys were significantly better /<br>superior. Other examples of previous researches which have used inconsistent<br>criteria for judging and interpreting gender differences in children’s drawings<br>abound in the literature (Blaikie, 2003; Gardner, 1982).<br>1.2. Statement of the Problem<br>Child art is something precious. It is fresh, lively and spontaneous. It<br>appears only in childhood and begins to die when the child approaches<br>adolescence. It is damaged by any attempt on the part of the teacher to impose<br>adult standards upon the child. It has aesthetic qualities of vitality and liveliness<br>and also has naturalness which has often been interpreted as freedom, simplicity<br>or sincerity (Carline, 1968; Tomlinson, 1966, Richardson, 1964 and Ruskin, 1907).<br>Children lost interest in art when their work loses its freshness and vitality.<br>In place of the bright colours and happy spontaneity, there appears the more<br>– 19 –<br>laboured and altogether duller work. The lack of interest and decline in the child’s<br>artwork has been a source of worry for parents and teachers. It would appear that<br>this situation is only applicable to art because in other subject areas, one might<br>expect ability and skill to increase in proportion to the child’s interest and the effort<br>of hisher teachers (Tuman, 1999). Wagner – Ott (2002) suggests that there are<br>certain extraneous factors which cause the child to loose interest in art and which<br>affects children’s drawing preference. These are inadequate teaching and<br>instructional methods of art teachers, their gender, interests and attitudes, lack of<br>motivation, environmental factors such as schools, teachers and parents, gender<br>socialization as well as psycho – cultural influence.<br>Researchers have also suggested possible solutions to problems of<br>children’s drawing preferences such as , inadequate teaching and instructional<br>methods of art teachers, their gender and interest. Some of the suggestions<br>include:-<br>i. The need to improve teaching strategies in art education (Danko-McGhee and<br>Slutsky 2003).<br>ii. Reflect the diversity of students in the classroom (Garber, 2003; WEEA,<br>1998).<br>iii. Include gender and feminist issues in art education curriculum contents<br>(Sadker, 2000; Moore and Trahan, 1997).<br>iv. Ensure that Parents / teachers constantly motivate children for art (Myra and<br>Sadker, 1998).<br>– 20 –<br>v. The need to make children interpret popular art works from a socio-cultural<br>viewpoint to see how gender can affect drawings (Freeman, 1994; 1998).<br>Research findings point to the fact that improved teaching strategies on the<br>formal characteristics of drawing had resulted in improved performance (Danko-<br>McGhee and Slutsky, (2003) Sadker (2000). Moore and Trahan (1997) also found<br>that the inclusion of gender and feminist issues in art education curriculum<br>content enhanced the understanding of the system of symbols as gender specific<br>drawing.<br>The attention of recent researchers has been turned away from questions<br>of “superiority” and “inferiority, and have started looking into other differences of<br>the relationship between gender and style. The common trend in the findings of<br>researchers is that girls show a marked interest in drawing of human figure as<br>well- proportioned, realistic and natural (Cox, 1993; McNiff, 1981; Majewski,<br>1978; Koppitz, 1968 and Machover, 1960). On the other hand, drawings of human<br>and the environment seem less important to be recorded in detail as boys have<br>been found to prefer to draw figures in imagery situations of conflict, humour,<br>fantasy and action with soldiers and machines, fighting among others. (Duncum,<br>1986; McNiff, 1981; Wilson, 1977; Feinburg, 1977; Lindstrom, 1962; McCarty,<br>1954).<br>Researchers in the field argue that preference in art generally results from<br>socialization of gender roles (Flannery and Watson 1995; Duncum, 1986).<br>Flannery and Watson argue that boys’ drawing content shows a socialized interest<br>in fantasy and violence which is beyond their daily life experience. On the other<br>– 21 –<br>hand, they posit that girls’ drawing content seems to be more realistic and can be<br>related to their everyday experience. According to Duncum (1986) gendered<br>content is a reflection of children’s developmental preoccupations because they<br>are compelled to conform to social norms<br>Researchers have also considered as valid, the idea that certain content<br>areas may support/promote tendencies in characteristics. Feinburg (1977) finds<br>that when boys and girls are asked to draw pictures in response to the words<br>“fighting” and “helping”, girls drew “fighting” in terms of emotional conflict between<br>friends and family, and “helping” in terms of personal assistance or care for<br>someone they knew. On the other hand, boys drew “fighting” as an indirect<br>aggressive action between violent armies, fantasy creatures and “helping” as a<br>form of contribution to a common task like building a house or constructing a<br>bridge. While the drawings of boys are generally action – packed, those of girls<br>contrasted considerably because they are mainly figure centered symmetrical<br>images. According to Feinburg, girls’ preference for symmetry is evidence of two<br>culturally learned approaches to subject matter. The author argues that while girls<br>used a “personal” approach to drawing, boys used a “de-personal” approach. He<br>concludes that these two approaches to subject matter are responsible for the<br>different spatial arrangements in children’s drawing.<br>While the studies examined here have provided an important framework for<br>the understanding of the complex relationship between gender and style in<br>children’s drawing, not a single one has questioned whether there is a relationship<br>between gender – preferred content and form. Studies so far conducted in the<br>– 22 –<br>area of gender and drawing in Nigeria seem not to explain the complex<br>relationship between gender and style. For example, none of these studies:<br>Zamani – Yusuf (1992); Mohammed (1988); Akiga (1985); Olorukooba (1981);<br>Bakare (1972) and Abiola (1965) present an in-depth analysis of gender<br>differences among the subjects studied. More so, while some earlier studies<br>identified the existence of different styles in the subject content of the drawings of<br>boys and girls, these studies did not examine how the differences affect the artistic<br>development of children (Ballard, 1912; Lark – Horovitz, Lewis and Luca 1967;<br>Eagly, 1987).<br>Similarly, while later studies have suggested that gender content interferes with<br>children’s formal characteristics, some researchers in the field have criticized<br>these studies for not being consistent in their research design and analysis<br>(Majewski, 1978; Feinburg, 1977).<br>This research will, therefore, examine the relationship between gender and<br>preferred content in children’s drawing among selected primary school children in<br>Zaria metropolis. The study will compare the way boys and girls use formal<br>characteristics of forming drawing.<br>1.3. Objective of study<br>The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship (if any) between<br>gender and preferred content in children’s drawing among some selected Primary<br>School children in Zaria metropolis. Art making is a natural development process<br>that young children engage in to illustrate and explain the world in which they live<br>– 23 –<br>(Danko-McGhee, 2003). Children can communicate thoughts and feelings in art<br>before they develop more conventional means of expressing ideas and emotions<br>in words. Expressive art making requires the use of symbols which will assist them<br>in creating meaning (content) for themselves about their world (Lasky and Mukerji,<br>1981). Again, in the use of symbols, certain visual qualities and processes in<br>children’s drawings are gender specific and should be understood by teachers<br>(Laura, 1985). The need for understanding the system of symbols as gender<br>specific (Keifer-Boyd, 2003) in children’s art, may not be unconnected with the<br>general assumption that art, as a universal language has no gender barrier, and,<br>or the teachers handling of the subject.<br>A sizeable proportion of learners find the teaching of art either as<br>uninteresting or unchallenging because of the way the teacher presents the<br>subject. This probably accounts for the diminishing proportion of learners offering<br>art at all levels of education as well as the persistent low performance in art<br>courses (Olorukooba, 1977, 1990; Mbahi, 1995).<br>Specifically, this research examined the relationship between gender and<br>preferred content in children’s drawings among selected primary school children in<br>Zaria. The study compared the way boys and girls use formal characteristics of<br>form in drawing.<br>– 24 –<br>1.4. Justification for the Research<br>Studies so far conducted in this area have reported the existence of<br>certain extraneous factors which are responsible for children losing interest in art:<br>such as:- environmental, lack of effective teaching and, indeed, encouragement of<br>gender difference in the art products of boys and girls and lack of motivation to<br>create drawings outside children’s gender characteristics.<br>1.5. Research Questions<br>Specifically, this study will seek to answer the following questions: –<br>1. Is there any gender difference in the drawing content chosen by boys<br>and girls?<br>2. Will there be any significant differences in the way boys and girls use formal<br>characteristics of forming drawing with:-<br>(a) Line,<br>(b) Shape,<br>(c) Texture,<br>(d) Space and<br>(e) Composition?<br>3. Will there be any inter-relationship between form and content in the drawings of<br>boys and girls?<br>4. Will there be any relationship between the drawings of boys and girls in terms of<br>their gender characteristics?<br>– 25 –<br>1.6. Statement of Hypotheses<br>The following null hypotheses were formulated in this study.<br>HO1. There is no significant difference between the drawing contents chosen by<br>boys and girls.<br>Ho2. There is no significant difference between the way boys and girls use formal<br>characteristics of forming drawing with respect to<br>(a) Line,<br>(b) Colour,<br>(c) Shape,<br>(d) Texture,<br>(e) Space And<br>(f) Composition.<br>Ho3. There is no inter-relationship between form and content in the drawing of<br>boys and girls.<br>Ho4. There is no significant difference between the drawings of boys and girls in<br>terms of their gender characteristics.<br>1.7. Significance of the Study<br>1. Research in child art has continued to be of interest to art educators,<br>teachers, parents and psychologists because it concerns the psychological<br>development of the child and the aesthetic value of his products. A research into<br>gender – preferred characteristics of children’s drawings will no doubt be valuable<br>– 26 –<br>to schools at all levels of education–Nursery, Primary, Secondary, Teachers’<br>Training and Department of Fine Arts in various Polytechnics and Universities.<br>The Society of Nigeria Artists (SNA), Nigeria Society for Education through Art<br>(NSEA) and other research bodies like Nigerian Educational and Research<br>Development Council (NERDC) as well as the National Council for Arts and<br>Culture (NCAC) might find the result of this research useful in organizing<br>conferences, workshops, seminars and reviewing of the art curriculum.<br>2. Studies so far conducted in this area have reported the existence of certain<br>extraneous factors which are responsible for children losing interest in art: such as<br>environment, lack of effective teaching, encouragement of gender difference in<br>the art products of boys and girls and lack of motivation to create drawings outside<br>children’s gender characteristics. It is therefore hoped that this study will proffer<br>some solution to the problems enumerated.<br>3. Research activities so far carried out in this area in Nigeria has not<br>touched on the complex relationship between gender and artistic production<br>(drawing). It is hoped that the outcome of this study will give an insight into gender<br>differences in the drawings, the subjects, as well as examine how these<br>differences affect the artistic development of children.<br>4. Non – inclusion of gender feminist issues in art education curriculum<br>content has long been a major source of concern. It is hoped that the study will<br>suggest an appropriate form and content for both sexes in art education curriculum<br>at all levels (Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary).<br>– 27 –<br>1.8. Basic Assumptions<br>The following assumptions were made for the study:<br>1. The population chosen for this study was representative of primary schools<br>in Zaria metropolis.<br>2. The topic – “Formal characteristic and elements of art” constitute an aspect<br>of the art syllabus used in the schools sampled and is also appropriate for<br>the sample.<br>3. The content themes are appropriate for boys and girls<br>1. 9. Delimitation of the Study<br>The study was delimited to finding the relationship between gender and<br>preferred content in children’s drawing among selected Primary school children<br>in Zaria metropolis as follows:-<br>1. Subjects for this study were drawn only from the eleven (11) schools where<br>creative arts as a subject is being offered out of seventy-six (76) private<br>primary schools in Zaria metropolis.<br>2. Only primary six children aged 10-12 were randomly selected for the study.<br>3. The study was delimited to formal characteristics and elements of art.<br>1.10. Limitations<br>The major sources of limitation for this study were time and financial<br>constraints. Only primary schools where creative arts as a subject is being taught<br>were sampled in order to obtain the necessary information needed for this study. <br></p>