Abstract
This research explored Vietnamese and international upper secondary school teachers’ perceptions and practices of teaching for creativity based on a preliminary analysis of 234 teachers’ survey responses, 17 in-depth interviews, and 208 lesson plans. It was found that teachers had limited understanding about creativity and teaching for creativity. They focused more on creativity when it is required from policies and curriculum. They often used familiar and convenient creative tools. This research indicates that to enhance student creativity, teachers should be fully aware of creativity, teaching for creativity, required to develop and assess student creativity, and trained to use creative tools.
Highlights
Creativity has become increasingly important in the twenty first century as creative and knowledge-based economies demand creative products that bring benefits and happiness to people
Data from the questionnaire and interviews revealed that almost all Vietnamese teachers highlighted creative products rather than creativity inputs and processes: e.g. 82% of them considered creativity as the production of new ideas; creativity as production of new solutions, a means of invention; and 57% thought creativity was a process of making things better or newer
They saw it as processes of imagining, exploring and creative thinking: Creativity is about building on the ideas of others or conceptually visualizing something new; Thinking differently to generate new solution, ideas and things without having limitation of thinking (A Malaysian teacher) It is important to teach students creativity not because we expect them to develop innovative products
Summary
Creativity has become increasingly important in the twenty first century as creative and knowledge-based economies demand creative products that bring benefits and happiness to people. People with creative skills are a key resource for the development of these economies (Brady & Edelman, 2012; Li, 2011). Teachers play a key role in developing creativity for students and they need to be aware of creativity, (both positive and negative) to educate their students to be happy, well rounded, well-adjusted creators who fit in well with their communities, giving and taking and contributing to others. They must have a wide domain and interdisciplinary knowledge as well as have the skills to teach for creativity. It has been considered that schools should build creative environments for teachers and students to be creative (Moran, 2010; Starko, 2013) and policies, curriculum and, in particular, assessment for creativity should be deployed
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