Cultural differences in Chinese American and European American children’s drawing skills over time

Objectives

Parents and early childhood teachers in Chinese societies and the United States have had different views about appropriate art instruction for young children.

The Chinese view is that creativity will emerge after children have been taught essential drawing skills.
The American view has been that children’s drawing skills emerge naturally and that directive teaching will stifle children’s creativity.

This study looks at cultural differences and the factors that influence drawing skills and creativity of 40 second-generation Chinese American and 40 European American young children at ages 5, 7, and 9.

Outcomes

The main results of the study include:

Chinese American children’s drawings of people were more mature and creative than their European American counterparts over a period of four years.
Chinese American parents reported more formal ways of promoting creativity as compared to European American parents.
Children who had more opportunities to draw and who received more guidance in drawing were more advanced in their drawing. For example, for Chinese Americans, fathers’ personal art attitudes and children’s initial drawing skills impacted children’s drawing scores four years later.

You can access the article "Cultural differences in Chinese American and European American children’s drawing skills over time" here.