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An in‐service teachers' training programme was designed aiming to encourage art teachers to learn through theoretical and artistic experiential activities in a specific environmental setting (Lemithou environmental education centre, Cyprus). The programme was based on the use of the environment as an educational resource, and sought to develop participants' environmental perception through artistic activities. Teachers (N=12) from public nursery, elementary and secondary schools, with particular interests and backgrounds in visual arts were invited to participate. The present study is particularly concerned with participants' artistic work inspired by the environment in three different settings of the area: (1) natural (e.g. forest) (2) the rural‐building (e.g. the village) and (3) culture and tradition (e.g. myths and people). Qualitative methods based on observation; diary reports and photographic material were applied on a case study basis. Results revealed teachers': (1) abilities in integrating environmental aspects in their artistic work, (2) positive attitude and interest for environmental art, (3) abilities in enhancing their personal power of artistic expression based on their experiences and the world around them. The findings highlight the significance of artistic experiential activities (hands‐on activities) and critical enquiry in developing teachers' environmental perception.

Art educators have asserted that, in order to develop curricula that use adult works of art, it is necessary to understand how children perceive and respond to art objects. Although 'art' is not included in the early years national curriculum of Cyprus, curriculum resource books encourage the introduction of adult artworks in nursery schools. This exploratory study was designed to gather information regarding young children's (aged 4-5 years) responses to adultpaintings. An open-ended interview procedure was used. Three reproductions of paintings of different artistic styles were selected: a realistic, a semi-realistic and an abstract. The sample included 25 children selected randomly from 12 public nursery schools of Cyprus. The findings suggest that artworks are an important part of children's educational experiences, if approaches and methods that are compatible with their perceptual abilities are used. The study identified some relevant factors underlying young children's responses to artworks and provides recommendations to enhance children's learning in art.

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