Although there is unanimity among educators that art and art education exert a positive influence on children, diverse philosophical, social, and psychological views and values have inhibited the formation of teaching goals and strategies that acknowledge the emotional and cognitive significance of visual art. The general aims of art education have been to develop students' visual, artistic, and aesthetic perceptions and to enhance their abilities in visual expression and production. Art establishes a close connection between emotional response and cognitive action, a relationship recently investigated by research into cerebral dominance. Aesthetic perceptions are an individuals' interpretation of reality. These perceptions produce an emotional response which should be encouraged. The development of artistic and aesthetic experience increases knowledge. Visually-transmitted knowledge would seem more permanent and meaningful than verbal information, since it clarifies an image of reality that can be internalized. By encouraging the development of perception, evaluation, and activity in visual art education, both visual and verbal information processing are enhanced. (FG)