Student Responses to Media: Implications for Elementary Art Curriculum

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore student preferences for different media and the reasons given for these preferences. As part of a two-year case study, 144 third and fourth graders in five schools were observed in their art classes; semi-structured interviews were conducted with 106 of these students at the end of each semester of art instruction. The most prevalent reasons for media preferences related primarily to the inherent qualities of different media, manipulating/sensing media, and the potential for flexibility of ideas or expression. Further, students preferred different media for different reasons. The findings suggest that curriculum decisions should take into account student perceptions about media and what kinds of art learning can take place in a media-focused curriculum.