Environmental influence on drawings of children in lower primary a study of selected districts in Ghana

Abstract

The study examined the environmental influence on drawings of children in selected districts in Ghana. It was a qualitative inquiry involving children in public basic schools from the ages of seven (7) to ten (10) years. Also, cultural coordinators, teachers and parents/adult caretakers of the sampled were included in the study. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used. Three main methods viz. interview, personal observations, and drawing activities were employed. NVivo data analysis software program (Version 12) and inductive analysis strategy were used for the analysis. Some of the major findings were that overall drawing capabilities of the children were rated from fairly good to very good. Also, the analysis reveals that each of the different realities of the children’s environment have some influence on their drawings, with the most obvious being the common reality as the drawing of the children were mainly tangible objects in their schools, home and physical environment. The study concludes that the children’s capabilities and competence in drawing some household items were very high in comparism to other items. Also, there was a variance across the districts and this is an indication that children in different parts of Ghana have different capabilities in what they are able to draw. The study recommends that children should be allowed to express themselves through visual representations. Again, there is a need for flexibility and desegregation of policy action point, curricular and teaching materials to reflect the heterogeneity of children’s learning environment across the country.