Art Play and Inquiry

The Why, What and How of Visual Arts Education with Young Children
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-91197-7
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 264 Seiten, Format (B × H): 210 mm x 297 mm, Gewicht: 650 g

Combining theoretical inspiration, practical guidance, and visual examples, this book empowers educators to implement rich visual arts experiences and foster joyful, art-centered learning environments with children.

Drawing upon decades of experience and research, the authors offer rich, practical, plain English information alongside inspiring images, reflection points, and visual examples to support educators to understand the WHY, WHAT, and HOW of designing and delivering a rich visual arts curriculum for and with young children. Making no assumptions about prior visual arts knowledge or experience, this informative, visually beautiful book connects theory and practice, while providing guidance to inspire and inform interactions with children and visual arts materials in meaningful ways.

This is an essential resource for educators, teachers, parents, students or academics aiming to enhance their teaching practices and enrich children's learning through visual arts. Whether you are new to visual arts education or looking to deepen your practice, this book will inspire and equip you to support children's creative and expressive potential.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate, Professional Practice & Development, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Savins, Denise

Lindsay, Gai

Probine, Sarah

Denee, Rachel

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Lehrerausbildung, Unterricht & Didaktik Allgemeine Didaktik Kunst, Musik, Theater (Unterricht & Didaktik)
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Schulen, Schulleitung Kindergarten & Vorschule
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Schulen, Schulleitung Grundschulen, Hauptschulen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

PART 1: WHY the visual arts are important for young children’s education and for educator’s work with children

1. Introduction

2. Why visual arts education matters

3. Theories, philosophies and approaches to inspire visual arts pedagogy

4. Examining and building a personal visual arts identity

PART 2: WHAT to do and think about when developing a visual arts curriculum

5. Artful play and inquirt: The role of the educator

6. Aesthetic encounters and material research

7. The visual arts in children's projects of inquiry

8. Art in and with the community

9. Engaging with the world of art, artists and galleries

10. Creating inspiring visual arts spaces

PART 3: THE HOW: Practical visual arts knowledge and methods

Part 3 Introduction

3.1 Drawing and Mark Making

3.2 Painting

3.3 Printmaking

3.4 Clay

3.5 Ephemeral Art and loose parts

3.6 Collage and assembly

3.7 Traditional crafts and artisan processes

3.8 Photography, light and lenses

Part 3 References

Über Autor(innen)

Gai Lindsay is passionate about art and early childhood education, with long-term experience as a preschool teacher, academic, consultant, and art-maker. Her work focuses on visual arts pedagogy and educator self-efficacy, aiming to inspire children and educators alike to embrace lifelong joy through arts-inspired learning and play.

Sarah Probine is an academic and early childhood researcher based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her work examines visual arts pedagogy and collaborative inquiry approaches, highlighting their capacity to foster intersubjectivity and interconnectedness in early childhood education.

Rachel Denee is a teacher and academic who is interested in visual arts in early childhood contexts. Her research is grounded in her experience in the early childhood sector as a teacher, leader, facilitator, and co-researcher. Rachel studies visual arts pedagogy, leadership, curriculum, and professional learning for teachers.

Denise Savins is an Early Childhood Teacher from Northern New South Wales, Australia. Denise also holds a degree in Visual Arts and has worked for a number of years as an art educator/atelierista with children aged 2–6 years. She is passionate about fostering children’s learning, creativity, and self-expression through meaningful visual arts pedagogy.