Assessment of colour perception and interpretation among 7-9 years old children

Abstract

Colour appreciation and creation with colours became an important component for worldwide visual education programs. In 2018, the International Colour Committee with Hungarian participation initiated a comparative research project to investigate the content methods and efficiency of teaching and learning about colour. This research is suitable for an international utilization and presents an online test developed for assessment of colour perception and interpretation of early grades of primary school children. After having presented the theoretical framework (Tóth, 2017) and having completed the pilot study, the current research presents the main results of the instrument that aims to raise the efficiency of art teachers’ work. The research was conducted with participation of second school graders of 142 elementary schools (N=4183, M_age=8,80). The test was administered and carried out at an online platform eDia. The internal consistency of the instrument that contains 48 items proved to be high (α = .83). Applying the methods of item-response theory and structural equation have shown that the components of colour perception and interpretation consists of colour sensitivity, colour-and form recognition, colour memory, and colour and meaning. This result can be a basis for knowledge to have more efficient curriculum elaboration strategies. This result can serve as a basis for development of a more effective curriculum for teaching and learning of colour in educational context, as well as Furthermore, it can help to define aims and goals more precisely related to school age groups. The online test is suitable for assessment of colour perception and interpretation at the beginning of the schooling. It provides teachers a rapid and objective feedback on their efficiency of teaching visual language, which is important to acquire success in the labour market and personal life as well.