A new theory on children's drawings: Analyzing the role of emotion and movement in graphical development

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to develop a new understanding of children's drawings and to provide ideas for future research in early childhood. Starting from classic theories on child graphical development, we proceed to analyze them and provide our own views on the subject. We will also recount a number of relevant empirical studies that appear to validate our theory. Our belief is that emotion and self-expression through movement play a key role in the development of child art, and that this may be already visible during the scribbling stage of drawing.

Keywords: Child art education; Child graphical development; Children's drawings; Early childhood; Scribbling.