No abstract

Fine arts teachers' concerns about male underachievement in a Quebec coeducational high school, and a related survey showing boys' negative perceptions of fine arts motivated this interdisciplinary literature review. Referring to biology and cognitive science, the article explores concepts of sex‐related cognitive traits to help in designing sex‐adapted approaches to individual learning in art education. The nature‐nurture controversy still surrounds sex‐based cognitive differences studies, though science agrees that natural and socio‐cultural factors are somehow closely interwoven in the complex gender identity construction process. Sex‐related biological predispositions influencing cognition are proposed notably in ‘instrumentality‐expressiveness' and ‘empathising‐systemising (E‐S)’ theories. The article suggests that in the context of art education, these sex‐related cognitive models deserve study, because they could initiate sex‐adapted teaching strategies with the necessary flexibility and wider scope to overcome gender‐stereotyped biases and stimulate boys' interest in the arts. This suggested approach should not be confused with stereotype‐based pedagogy, which merely strengthens learned gender characteristics, producing or maintaining academic underachievement.

From a survey of literature, this article presents some reflections about the value of play and playfulness as, respectively, an activity and a creative attitude of mind to be fostered in art education in children. Indeed, at the heart of any artistic creative impulse sits a playful attitude of the artist towards reality-a feature that has been highlighted by the psychoanalyst Winnicott. Following his line of thought, we propose that the art teacher must place the learner in a position of being able to play with her/him, in order to overlap their two areas of playing and establish a learning space. Playfulness and play tend to be confused with impulsive and disruptive behaviours and generally more tolerated at home then school. We claim that artistic activities in school should always be play-based and take place in a playful environment because art and creation emerge from and grow in and as play.

Background: Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) are an art appreciation method known to improve students' quality of attention and sense of observation. Although great importance is attached to attentional skills, few studies attempt to measure and verify interventions that improve development of attentional processes in school aged children. Objective: Using a small-scale quantitative approach, verify the potential development of sustained attention of Quebec (Canada) primary school students following VTS practice spread over one school year. Participants: 125 primary school students (fourth and fifth graders/7 to 9 years old). Intervention: Experiments were conducted in five classrooms at two primary schools including control groups. Measurements: Kids Test for Attentional Performance (KiTAP) was used repeatedly throughout the school year on two sub-groups of 49 randomly selected participants. Results: KiTAP results showed statistically significant differences for sustained attention development of pretest/post-test participants having received VTS lessons. Conclusion: Regular VTS practice favours the maturation of sustained attention in primary school students.

Cet article présente les résultats d’une étude de cas exploratoire concernant le développement du langage oral, de la musicalité, des fonctions exécutives et attentionnelles de huit enfants aux prises avec un trouble développemental du langage. L’étude a été menée dans le cadre d’un camp estival multisensoriel impliquant la musique organisé depuis plusieurs années par l’organisme Développement du langage et Dysphasie-Estrie , au Québec. À la suite de nos interventions auprès des enfants, l’évaluation de l’équipe d’intervention, en croisée avec les résultats des tests, témoigne d’amélioration sur l’attention, le langage réceptif et expressif, les fonctions exécutives principales et la musicalité pour certains enfants. Cette recherche exploratoire permet de penser qu’un camp spécialisé pourrait s’avérer un vecteur potentiel de croissance pour des enfants aux prises avec un trouble du développement langagier.