Descriptive Analysis Of Nigerian Children Human Figure Drawings: A Developmental Approach

Abstract

Art is a symbolic means of communication through which man can communicate his inner needs, desires and worries. Children find art a good means of communicating what ordinarily, they may not be able to describe orally. This study was on description of Nigerian children human figure art using Lowenfeld and Brittain (1970) developmental model. The participants were five hundred and twenty six (526) children drawn from population of primary and junior secondary schools from two towns in Northern and Southern Nigeria respectively. They included three hundred and eight (308) females and two and eighteen (218) males. Their ages ranged between 6 to 13 years. Their (18) males. Their ages ranged between 6 to 13 years. Their M age was 9.84 and SD age was 2.08. The analysis of the drawing showed developmental sequences on human figure drawings of children. Every age had their peculiarities on the drawings that differed from that of other ages. The developmental peculiarities were analyzed on such factors as spatial relationships, sexual orientations, socio-cultural and image representations. Implications of the study for early diagnosis and intervention on children were discussed.