This study explores how poems as teaching materials and the instructional strategy of “transposition” affect children’s generation of themes in drawing activities within elementary school Art and Crafts classes. Drawing on the Double Diamond Model creative process from design thinking, the study conceptualizes the learning process in four stages—from the initial encounter with a poem to the completion of visual expression. The findings reveal that poetic texts appeal to children’s senses, stimulate their thinking, and awaken subconscious perceptions of objects and phenomena. These experiences, referred to as “happenings” serve as triggers for children to conceive of their own themes. Furthermore, the two forms of “transposition” used by teachers—transforming the “happenings” derived from poems into words or sketches—promote both the divergence and convergence of thinking, thereby facilitating a shift from verbal to visual modes of thought. The study suggests that understanding children’s cognitive processes provides valuable insights into how teachers can design and support creative drawing activities using poetry as a pedagogical resource.

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A cross-curricular program in which students engage in interactive appreciation of the sculptural qualities and beauty of Buddhist statues during preparatory learning for junior high school study trips, and explore their historical, cultural, and academic value, enhances students’ interest and curiosity about the statues and maintains high levels of engagement during and after the trip. However, during the trip itself, attention to sculptural elements, personal interpretation and valuation, and recollection of historical, cultural, and academic significance tend to be weak. This study implemented post-trip learning based on Buddhist statues transmitted in the local area. Examples from various regions that are from the same period and style as statues in the former capital and share similarities or connections exist. As a result of conducting post-trip learning using examples familiar to the students, there was sustained high interest in Buddhist statues, increased focus on sculptural elements, personal interpretation and valuation, and understanding of historical, cultural, and academic significance, leading to the cultivation of an awareness of preserving and passing on traditional culture as members of the local community. This contributes to the development of students’ competencies and abilities to “explore and implement ways to communicate or preserve the presence and value of local culture based on interest, attachment, and a multifaceted understanding,” demonstrating the usefulness of local Buddhist statues in school education.

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This study aimed to examine how the proactivity and interactivity of students in high school art appreciation classes are affected by a form of collaborative learning that is conducted using ICT collaboration tools (henceforth referred to as “collab tools”). With the spread of the computerization of education encouraged by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the development of ICT environments in classrooms, collaborative learning using tablet devices will be essential for improving the quality of future learning. However, collaborative learning can be taxing for students who feel uncomfortable expressing their opinions face to face. Therefore, through class lesson implementation, this study examined, based on questionnaire surveys and students’ work, whether co-editing collab tools provided by learning support apps on tablets can reduce the strain of collaborative learning and motivate students. Although the results suggested that the appropriate use of collab tools for achieving learning goals may increase student proactivity and interactivity, it was also clear that there would be challenges in developing ICT environments and updating the teachers’ skills.These findings point to new possibilities for art education in the ICT era, where autonomy and dialogue can be fostered concurrently.

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In order for “material play” to become more firmly established in school practice, it is necessary to clarify the connection between materials and children’s actions, as one way to supplement teachers’ understanding of concrete instructional processes. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify, through classroom practice, how materials elicit and develop children’s actions, and to present a perspective that connects materials and actions. An analysis of first-grade children observed in elementary art classes using paper cups and plastic bottle lids revealed that the characteristics and properties of these materials elicited and expanded the children’s actions. Nine common elements were identified across the two materials: “shape,” “color,” “material quality,” “flexibility/inflexibility in terms of development or change,” “accumulation of experience,” “quantity,” “relationship with the body,” “combinations of actions,” and “group (collaborative) nature.” These elements were found to help explain the connection between the materials and the children’s actions. The findings suggest that these “elements for developing actions” can be used as a useful reference for selecting materials that foster deeper engagement in “material play.”

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This paper examines art festivals that have been held in Japan throughout the 21st century. These festivals function not only as platforms for social education centered on the visual arts, but have also increasingly served as partners in school education. Naoya Fujita has critically pointed out that such festivals have led to a decline in the “criticality of art.” However, critical examinations of art festivals remain notably scarce in the existing literature. First, this study employs Colin Crouch’s theory of post-democracy to analyze the positioning of art and education within the broader context of societal transformation. Second, it outlines the historical trajectories of documenta and the Venice Biennale, both of which have had a significant impact on Japanese art festivals. Third, it offers a comparative analysis between these prominent European festivals and their Japanese counterparts. The analysis reveals a clear contrast: while European art festivals are primarily organized by networks of art professionals, Japanese festivals tend to be administered by elites from political, bureaucratic, and economic sectors. In conclusion, the paper clarifies the structural characteristics of art festivals under post-democratic conditions, presents new insights into the challenges facing the current system, and discusses prospects for the future.

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This study aims to clarify the commonality between “play” and “learning” by qualitatively analyzing the process by which the experience and interest of “play involving formative activities” in early childhood is connected to “subject learning” in the early elementary school years. Thus, a longitudinal observational study of children's early childhood and childhood was conducted over a two-year period, and examined from two perspectives: “scenes of reception and inspiration” and “ways of interacting with others in ‘sharing’ and ‘imitation’”. The results suggest that situations in which children are inspired by others tend to be similar in early childhood and childhood, whereas the ways in which they interact with others may change from the perspective of their social development. Additionally, children may become aware of the meaning of the knowledge they are taught by comparing it with their own experiences, as they are inspired by occurrences in the outside world while learning academic subjects. Furthermore, when a perceiver attempts to establish a new relationship with the outside world, this act can be considered both “play” and “active learning (exploration),” suggesting that the structure beginning from sensing and inspiring is a mechanism common to “play” and active “subject learning.”

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