Abstract
The aim of this paper is to aid educators in sustainability or social innovation to make sense of their creativity. We use a systems model of creativity (Csikszentmihalyi 1988, 1996, 1999) as an enquiring device to tease out issues that influence creativity within these realms. Data from semi-structured interviews with senior and junior educators in two geographical locations lead us to elaborate two systems models to reflect creativity. These models portray creativity as emerging from the alignment of and connections between creators, domains and field elements as suggested by Csikszentmihalyi. However, we also identify some intermediary or absent connections between the model elements which deserve further attention, as their uncritical pursuit could potentially exacerbate exclusion or marginalisation of junior educators’ personal values and interests. Therefore, critically and creatively informed learning could be better cultivated in these realms. This and other insights could have important implications for how creativity and its nurturing in education could be advanced in the long run.
Highlights
Many educational institutions worldwide are currently promoting sustainability or social innovation as valuable areas of knowledge
We use a systems model of creativity proposed by Csikszentmihalyi (1988, 1996, 1999) to identify and enquire into the activities, relationships and emerging issues that be influencing, or influenced by, educators of sustainability or social innovation
Our findings show that education in sustainability or social innovation is rich, multifaceted, ‘complicated’ and with opportunities to further develop
Summary
Many educational institutions worldwide are currently promoting sustainability or social innovation as valuable areas of knowledge As educators in these areas and with different degrees of seniority or experience, we often find ourselves facing daily challenges in response to continuous internal and external demands (Alcaraz and Thiruvattal 2010). These include teaching our students the value of new and changing knowledge compared to traditional or more stable methods (Ghosal 2005). We use a systems model of creativity proposed by Csikszentmihalyi (1988, 1996, 1999) to identify and enquire into the activities, relationships and emerging issues that (could) be influencing, or influenced by, educators of sustainability or social innovation
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