Effects of a Creativity Training Program on Divergent Thinking Abilities and Self-Concept in Monolingual and Bilingual Classrooms

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the effects of a creativity training program, New Directions in Creativity, on students' divergent thinking abilities and self-concept in monolingual and bilingual elementary classrooms. The sample included 8 monolingual and 6 bilingual classrooms from a school in New England. The bilingual classrooms consisted of Brazilian students. Descriptive discriminant function analyses were used to investigate differences between treatment and control groups with respect to divergent thinking abilities and self-concept. Qualitative procedures were used to analyze data from interviews with teachers and students who participated in the program. The findings indicated that the creativity program slightly improved the divergent thinking abilities of students in the treatment group. The results also indicated that the effect of the creativity program on the self-concept of students in the treatment group was small, and the control group students experienced a decline in self-concept between pretest and posttest. Placement in monolingual or bilingual classrooms was not related to students' divergent thinking abilities and self-concepts. Qualitative analyses generated 3 core categories that help explain how the creativity training program and the school environment influenced students' divergent thinking abilities and self-concept: (a) the implementation of the creativity training program, (b) the degree of bilingualism of Brazilian students, and (c) cultural issues.