The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between musical and visual art preferences, and the role of personality traits in predicting preferences for different musical styles and visual art motives. Participants were asked to fill out the following instruments: Questionnaire of music preferences, Questionnaire of visual art preferences, Questionnaire for personality traits International Personality Item Pool [IPIP]; the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking. Results showed that most participants preferred popular and classical music, and landscape motives, while they showed the lowest preferences for heavy metal music and paintings that represented motives of violence and cultures of the world. With regard to the relationship between music and visual art preferences, classical music preferences were positively related to preferences for all visual art motives, while preferences for jazz and world music were positively related to visual art preferences of all motives except religious. Heavy metal music preferences were related to preferences for all motives except landscapes, and popular music preferences were positively associated with religious motives and landscapes. The results of this study suggest a relatively modest contribution of personality traits in explaining music and visual art preferences, although traits for intellect, sensation seeking, and agreeableness were shown to be significant predictors in many instances.

The aim of this study was to investigate the differences of young school children in the visual preferences of paintings from the 20th century. The study was conducted at 4 elementary schools around Split, Croatia. A total of 200 children participated in the study, of which 87 were girls and 113 were boys aged 6–10 years. Visual preference testing was conducted individually where pupils assessed, on a 5-point scale, the degree to which they liked 36 paintings that were presented in pairs on the computer screen. The results showed that pupils preferred paintings made before the 20th century and paintings without artistic value. Boys and girls equally prefer paintings from the 20th century, with the exception of surrealism, which boys preferred better. Pupils, irrespective of age, better prefer fauvism, pop art, and surrealism, as opposed to cubism and abstract art. Apparently, children prefer more fine lines with a distinctive motif, cleaner colors, and 3-dimensional diagrams of signs and space (fauvism, surrealism, pop art); and they less favored paintings from the 20th century where it is hard to perceive the spatial relationships, which are abstract or difficult to figuratively recognize (cubism, abstract painting).

The research presented here aims to determine how art education influences students’ preferences for the 20th-century art movements. An educational experiment that spanned through one school year was conducted on 200 primary school students. It included three types of intervention: observing works of art from the 20th century, introducing works of art using a puppet, and the students’ art activities/artwork based on the 20th-century art movements. The results show that the model of art education is an important factor in changing students’ preferences for the 20th century art movements. Students reacted positively to each kind of education, as evidenced in the wider acceptance of 20th-century art (abstract, fauvism, cubism, pop art, and surrealism). The type of education did not influence preferences (as much) when it came to classical art and visual works without artistic value. We concluded that puppets and independent creative work should be used more often in art education.

A nation’s cultural and natural heritage is the wealth of the people it belongs to and one of the key elements for the creation of national identity and affirmation in the process of globalization. The aim of our study was to examine the attitudes, knowledge and thoughts of primary and secondary school students related to natural and cultural heritage. A total of 322 respondents from primary and secondary schools in Split-Dalmatia County, Šibenik-Knin County, and Zagreb County participated in the research. Our results indicate that secondary school students show better knowledge of cultural and natural heritage of their homeland and a higher degree of interest in learning about these contents than students in the final grades of primary school. Moreover, secondary school students more than primary school students recognize the value of attaching importance to these topics within the work of educational institutions and in various school subjects. In addition, secondary school students expressed a greater awareness of the importance of preserving cultural heritage and its connection with the development of the economy and the preservation of national identity compared to primary school students. No differences were found among students in terms of the impact of cultural heritage on encouraging their creativity, but it was shown that more frequent visits to archaeological institutions were associated with a higher interest in heritage-related content.

Kulturna i prirodna baština bogatstvo je naroda kojemu pripada te jedan od ključnih elemenata za stvaranje nacionalnoga kulturnog identiteta i afirmacije u procesu globalizacije društva. Cilj istraživanja bio je ispitati stavove, informiranost i razmišljanja učenika osnovnih i srednjih škola o prirodnoj i kulturnoj baštini. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 322 ispitanika iz osnovnih i srednjih škola Splitsko-dalmatinske, Šibensko-kninske i Zagrebačke županije. Analiza rezultata ukazuje na to da učenici srednjih škola iskazuju bolje poznavanje kulturne i prirodne baštine zavičaja te viši stupanj zainteresiranosti za upoznavanje tih sadržaja nego učenici završnih razreda osnovne škole. Također, više prepoznaju vrijednost pridavanja značaja tim temama u okviru rada odgojno-obrazovnih ustanova i u okviru različitih nastavnih predmeta. Usto, srednjoškolci izražavaju veću svijest o važnosti očuvanja kulturne baštine te njezine povezanosti s razvojem gospodarstva i očuvanjem nacionalnog identiteta nego učenici osnovnih škola. Nije bilo razlika među učenicima po pitanju utjecaja kulturne baštine na poticanje njihove kreativnosti, no pokazalo se da je češće posjećivanje arheoloških institucija povezano s višim interesom za sadržaje baštine.