Creativity and mathematics education: the state of the art

Abstract

This paper draws connections between studies in general creativity and studies in mathematics education. Through analysis of the state of the art in the research in creativity as associated with mathematics education we review manuscripts included in this special issue. We consider definitions of creativity and the approaches to studying creativity as historically developed and as applied in studies presented in the current issue. We pay special attention to the relationship between creativity, high ability and giftedness. We analyze creative product, process, person and press as focal points chosen by researchers in order to analyze the role of mathematics education in the development of students’ creativity. Finally we explore research methods that can be used when studying creativity and those used in studies presented in this special issue. We stress the importance of the advancement of research on creativity in mathematics education and consider this special issue as an important step in raising the awareness of the community of researchers in mathematics education of this intriguing personal and social trait.