ABSTRACT
An important implication of the body of recent theory and research into children’s play and children’s artistic and aesthetic development, is that the role of the teacher as supportive facilitator with a hands-off, non-interventionist approach, should change. Development is fostered and learning opportunities maximised when the teacher plays a more active role within the context of the child-centred, process-oriented curriculum. This paper proposes that new understandings of children’s artistic and aesthetic development be integrated with changing attitudes towards the role of the adult in children’s play, particularly imaginative (fantasy) play. Suggestions are made for ways in which teachers may intervene creatively in children’s artmaking, as well as extend these activities into further areas of aesthetic experience.
