Abstract
This study empirically examines how the three foundational stages of art appreciation learning “reception,” “observation,” and “analysis”theoretically proposed in prior research (Noami, 2025) manifest and develop across grade levels. An art appreciation lesson featuring Hokusaiʼs The Great Wave off Kanagawa was conducted with 203 students at a municipal public elementary school in Osaka, and their written responses were qualitatively analyzed using MAXQDA 24. The results demonstrated a cumulative structure in childrenʼs responses, progressing systematically from emotional impressions to objective observation and ultimately to an understanding of causal relationships. Crucially, the findings revealed that appreciation abilities develop not merely through age-related maturation but are significantly influenced by the quality and continuity of educational intervention. Furthermore, an integrated understanding of formative elements was shown to develop alongside appreciation. Consequently, these results suggest specific instructional objectives that are tailored to the developmental characteristics of each grade level.
