Background: Recognizing that arts education is important in facilitating learning and in enhancing creativity in students, recent education reform in Hong Kong has sought to promote arts education and efforts to encourage creative expression through different art forms. Among different modes of creative arts expression, drawing has been suggested as the best choice for allowing creative expression by students with high ability in visual arts. Therefore, the connection between students' drawing and creativity warranted investigation.
Aims: This study explored the drawing abilities and creativity of Chinese students in Hong Kong based on their drawing performance, and examined their connection in relation to students' self-perceived artistic characteristics and involvement in drawing activities.
Sample: 105 Hong Kong Chinese primary and secondary school students, nominated by their schools to participate in the gifted programs of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, participated voluntarily in this study.
Method: Students completed two drawing tasks adapted from Clark's Drawing Abilities Test and a self-report questionnaire that included the Artistic Characteristics Scale of the Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students and the Drawing Activity Checklist. The drawings were rated on students' drawing abilities and creativity by three Chinese visual artists as expert judges.
Results: Judges agreed more on their ratings on students' drawing abilities than on students' creativity. Judged drawing abilities and creativity were found to be moderately but significantly correlated. While judged drawing abilities were found to correlate significantly with students' self-reported artistic characteristics and drawing activities, judged creativity was found to correlate minimally with these variables.
Conclusion: This study provided supportive evidence on the connection between drawing abilities and creativity. The findings

本論文就家長的參與和支持，包括出席音樂會、聆聽音樂、在家中觀看音樂節目和整體財政支持等進行研究，亦調查學生在家長參與和支持其器樂學習上的觀感。於2007年10月至11月期間，本研究以自行填寫問卷方式，收集了香港10所中學共1,493位中一至中七學生意見的數據，發現家長對學生音樂活動的參與和支持總體屬低水平，家長的參與僅流於財政上支持。這裡值得關注的，是如何使學生和家長對音樂產生興趣並感到雀躍，從而一起參與音樂活動。
This paper examines various aspects of parental involvement in and support for musical participation, including concert attendance, music listening, watching music programmes at home, and overall financial support. It also examines students' perceptions of parental involvement in, and support for, their instrument learning. Data are drawn from self-completed questionnaires administered in school from October to November 2007 to 1,493 Secondary 1 to Secondary 7 students attending a total of 10 Hong Kong secondary schools. The survey finds low overall levels of parental involvement in and support of students' musical participation, with students reporting that financial assistance from their parents accounts for the majority of parental involvement. The results suggest it is important to determine how to make both students and parents interested in and excited about music, and how to get them to enjoy participating in music together.
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