@article{2906ef00105a4f278a67e788ca0402f1,
title = "“Child Art,” “Fine Art,” and “Art for Children”: The Shaping of School Practice and Implications for Change",
author = "Liora Bresler",
note = "Funding Information: This article is based on two research studies, which examined arts education in elementary schools using qualitative methods. The first, a three-year project, was conducted under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts.4 The second, a four-year project, was sponsored by the Bureau of Educational Research and the research board at the University of Illinois.{\textquoteright}. Observations revealed three genres of arts used in the schools: (I) “child art,” meaning original compositions created by children in dance, drama, visual art, and music; (2) “fine art,” meaning classical works in the different arts media created by established artists; and (3) “art for children,” meaning art created by adults specifically for children, often for didactic purposes. Child art became a legitimate subject of scholarly discussion during the child study movement of more than a century ago. Its philosophical foundations can be traced to a Rousseauian notion. Fine art, grounded in humanistic goals, highlights a pursuit of excellence; the acquisition of cultural knowledge; and cognitive, factual, and critical approaches. In the schools, it draws on the disciplines of arts history, arts criticism, and less frequently, on the discipline of aesthetics. Art for children claims no scholarly framework. It does not, like child art, espouse self-expression, nor does it claim, like fine art, to be “the best of the culture.” Rather, it serves practical needs in providing materials that are meant to be developmentally appropriate, accessible, and relevant to children{\textquoteright}s lives. In the following sections, I describe each of these genres as it is manifested in the operational curricula of elementary schools.",
year = "1998",
month = sep,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1080/10632919809599444",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "100",
pages = "3--10",
journal = "Arts Education Policy Review",
issn = "1063-2913",
publisher = "Taylor and Francis Ltd.",
number = "1",
}