Striving for better teaching and student creativity development: Linking informal workplace learning and teaching for creativity

Abstract

The importance of workplace learning to personal creativity has been repeatedly demonstrated, but there has been limited research on the relationship between teachers’ informal workplace learning and their teaching for creativity (TfC) behaviour. Using a sample of 2,880 primary teachers, this study examined the relationship between teachers’ TfC and their informal workplace learning behaviour and how this relationship is influenced by gender and teaching experience. Means comparison, regression analysis and structural equation modelling showed that the five types of informal workplace learning activities, namely learning through media, colleague interactions, stakeholder interactions, student interactions and reflection, were positively related to TfC, but in different ways. Specifically, reflection and learning through student interactions had the strongest associations with process-oriented and product-oriented TfC, respectively. Learning through colleague interactions was related to process-oriented TfC but not product-oriented TfC. Product-oriented TfC was favoured by male teachers. Teaching experience was positively related to both process- and product-oriented TfC. The details of the key findings, as well as the implications for policymakers and researchers seeking to promote student creativity, are discussed.