Current knowledge and practice relating to young children's aesthetic development and education are reviewed in this state-of-the-art report. Beginning with a brief section highlighting theoretical problems and approaches to the psychological study of aesthetic response, the review subsequently describes three common strategies used in aesthetic research: the general methodology for experimental aesthetics, tests of aesthetic sensitivity, and the structured interview method. The third and largest section of the paper reviews a selection of arts studies concerning aesthetic development and education. The studies reviewed are organized into three clusters of research activity: (1) developmental studies emphasizing age-related trends in aesthetic response, (2) studies concerned primarily with individual and group differences in aesthetic response (excepting age), and (3) deliberate attempts to influence the course of aesthetic growth and development. Developmental studies reviewed include investigations of children's aesthetic response to stimulus complexity as well as their aesthetic discrimination and judgement. The discussion of intervention research focuses on aesthetic response training studies in addition to broader programmatic interventions. It is noted that all three streams of research activity are predominately oriented toward the visual arts. However, research focusing on music, literature, and related art forms is also discussed. (RH)