Visual arts and the integral development of children under five years old: A case study in Ecuador

This research helps to describe the integral development of children under five years old, of the Initial (preschool) stage in a state educational institution at the rural area of Samborondón City, Ecuador. This research shows the implementation of artistic painting activities within the school process. 28 children participated here. The instructional tasks provided information about the improvement in the development of cognitive, language, motor, and social areas after the completion of artistic activities. The procedure included a bibliographic review about integral development of children, and an observation of educational methods to use arts in the curricula. Our research also considered the concordance with the Initial Education curriculum of Ecuador, selection of the control group, application of guidance (ex pre) of individual observation of each student, making artistic activities, and application of guide (ex post) of individual observation. The results showed that the children significantly improved their abilities in the different areas of development. The best results came from the motor and language areas.