Creativity as a scientific-social phenomenon

Kamran, Shahida

Abstract

In recent years, educational academics, teachers, and politicians from all over the world have turned their attention to the need to encourage children's creativity in their academic studies. Creativity is a critical component of thinking and learning that applies to all subject areas. The belief that creativity should be encouraged and cultivated in educational environments is widespread (Williams, 2002). However, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding creativity as a social phenomenon and a process that may be fostered in children. This could be a result of creativity's complexity and the fact that teaching and educational research have not consistently defined "what creativity is" or "what it means" (Marksberry, 1963; Sternberg, 2009). The overall aims of this study were to explore creativity as a social phenomenon as well as a process that can be fostered through repeated interactions between the teacher and the student. This case study is based on the observations of the children in early childhood and four teachers' interviews. Children's observations, semi-structured interviews, and photographs of their work had been used as part of the research process. Thematic findings were made following an analysis of the data gathered.
Data analysis gathered through observations reveals that children’s creativity is fostered through playful activities and hands-on experiences. Moreover, the theme findings from interviews showed that early childhood educators are able to describe creativity and its key components. It was also shown that teachers were aware of creativity and knew how to foster it through their lessons, curricula, and classroom settings. Overall, the study's findings showed that although creativity has certain generalisable components, they are generated and assessed following the context of early years setting. The results may have significant effects on how creativity is developed in children and how educators encourage creativity in the classroom.

Citation

Kamran, S. (2024). Creativity as a scientific-social phenomenon. (Thesis). Keele University. Retrieved from https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/857263

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jun 25, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 16, 2024
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/857263
• Award Date: 2024-08