Lowenfeld`s thought of art education laid the thoretical foundation for child-centered, creativity-centered art education. His thought aimed at providing art education from children`s perspective in a liberal manner without any restrictions in order t...
Lowenfeld`s thought of art education laid the thoretical foundation for child-centered, creativity-centered art education. His thought aimed at providing art education from children`s perspective in a liberal manner without any restrictions in order to stir up their self-expression to boost their creatvity. He was primarily interested in the appropriate development of children, and viewd art as a means to produce thoughtful and creative children.
Thus, art is an educational tool to foster children`s sensitivity and creative ability, and it seems that children are able to improve their imagination and perception through firsthand tactile, visual and phenomenal experience.
Lowenfeld`s educational thought was based on Freud`s psychoanalysis and psychology under the influence of Gestalt psychology. That also was built on surrealism and expressionism that stressed free self-expression in a liberal atmosphere. At the same time, that was based on humanism, progressivism and Cizek`s free expression.
His art education thought served as a catalyst in stepping up the worldwide spread of scientific and rational research on art educational, and that made a contribution to nurturing art teachers and thereby to the development, spread and generalization of art education.
According to his thought, just considering it enough to help children show what they can do on the assumption that the development of artistic and visual expression is a natural process should be avoided. Instead, more scientific, rational and systematic teaching methods should be explored and applied. Art activities are a combination of expression, appreciation and understanding, and learners cannot represent what they have in mind without having the right understanding of art.
Children should be assisted to understand themselves and their surrounding environments through art.
In addition, art should be educated in association with the lives of learners. In art education, art, education and man are equally important, and the three can be united in everyday life. Quality education of expression, understanding and appreciation should be provided by selecting the kinds of themes and meterials that are closely linked to children`s lives, and they should be motivated to find and enjoy art in daily routine life. In order to make it happen, what matters the most is carefully selecting what to teach and teaching it at the right time.