Projection systems and X‐ray strategies in children's drawings: a comparative study in three cultures

This comparative study analyses projection systems and transparency (X‐ray) elements in children's drawings. In total, 584 children (9–12 years old) were recruited from three settings: a Tanzanian town, ( N =293) a refugee settlement of the African National Congress, Tanzania ( N =130); a Swedish small town ( N =161). Children were asked to make drawings of ‘When I am working in my classroom’ and ‘My future family’. In Piagetian theory, X‐ray strategies are related to the period of intellectual realism, whereas advanced projection systems are related to the period of visual realism. The results of the two tasks indicated that both African groups employed X‐ray strategies to a greater extent than the Swedish children. On the other hand, and quite contradictory if seen from stage type theorising, African children simultaneously employed advanced projection systems to a greater extent than the Swedish children. Moreover, the children in the two African settings would in many cases combine these theoretically incompatible drawing strategies. The findings are discussed in relation to the universality of stage‐type models and in terms of children's social scaling; that is, their drawing strategies for focusing on elements of personal interest.