ABSTRACT
Research on the visual arts in early childhood traditionally focused on issues of development approached within a psychological paradigm compatible with a modernist understanding of the origins and functions of art making in human life. Since the latter part of the twentieth century, attention has shifted from an emphasis on preservation of the innate creativity of individual children toward recognition of art making, even in its earliest manifestations, as a social and historical activity, undertaken in dialogue with peers, adults, and the surrounding culture. In recent years, this shift has continued, reflecting the influence of postmodern thought on our conceptions of children and childhood art. This review of literature presents contemporary research as it extends, critiques, and exists alongside earlier understandings of what child art is, what it means for human functioning, and how it is influenced by formal and informal teaching and learning. These issues of development, context, and curriculum are addressed from the perspective of early childhood art education as a palimpsest in which modernist and postmodernist concepts of childhood, art, and education continue to coexist, often in contradictory relationships, reflecting the complexity of attitudes that shape research, theory, and practice.
