Research about family perceptions via pictures of children from problematic families or having divorced parents

Abstract

Children's pictures are very important materials because the pictures can allow us to understand the children better, whether they hide their feelings or hesitate to express their ideas. Pictures show where they see themselves in the environment and determine clearly the children's perception level of their environment and interests. When looking at the children's drawings, it can be seen that they express the children's inner attitudes towards the outside world with the symbols and the shared language, which allow us to understand their drawings on a subconscious level. Besides observing the symbols used in children's drawings, to get the better result, the method must be supported by written and oral expressions. Because of this reason, the aim is to determine the family perceptions and attitudes of the children, from primary school age, via pictures. The sample was composed of 105 students, ages 9-12, at a primary school in Erzurum. In the study, "analysis of the symbols used in the picture of family", "the underlined expressions about families of children", and "the children's observations in addition to the other people's observations" were used as the data collection tool. The data were analysed using the descriptions. Significant differences were found between the children who have a problem family and the others, in the respect of the symbols used in the pictures. The findings were discussed in the perspective of the importance of the family. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Education and Research Center.