Abstract
Testing creativity in general has been well researched but little has been reported on the devel-opment of instruments to test scientific creativity among preschool pupils. This study described the development and validation of a Figural Scientific Creativity Test (FSCT) for preschool pupils. The FSCT consisted of six items which were constructed based on Scientific Creativity Structure Model and scored using an adapted Torrence Test of Creative Thinking. The items were developed through three dimensions called the product (scientific knowledge, scientific phenomena and scientific problem), the process (imagination and thinking) and the trait (fluency, originality, elaboration, abstractness of title and resistance to premature closure). All the items were developed and validated through analysis of item response data of 30 six-year-old preschool pupils in Kota Kinabalu district. Item analyses were conducted to check on item discrimination, Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient, item-total correlations, agreement between scorers, construct re-lated validity, content validity, face validity, and acceptability to pupils. All items showed discrim-ination coefficient range from 0.22 to 0.40. The Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient was found to be 0.806. The item-total correlations range was within 0.541 to 0.866. The correlations between scorers varied from 0.780 to 0.933. FSCT was found to have a total of six items on one factor as a result of the exploratory factor analysis. The item analysis suggested that FSCT could be a reliable and valid instrument in assessing scientific creativity of six-year-old preschool pupils in preschool classrooms.
Highlights
As the world is entering a new era, creativity is not just becoming increasingly important (Pink, 2005), but it seems that “our future is closely tied to human creativity” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). Gardner (2010), in his Five Minds for the Future, argued for the crucial role of creativity, as one of the five cognitive abilities that leaders of the future should seek to cultivate
The efforts of the Ministry of Education (MOE) to develop creative thinking skills among preschool pupils have been started with the implementation of National Preschool Curriculum since 2001 (Curriculum Development Centre, 2001) and the newly-implemented National Preschool Curriculum Standard (NPCS) which was introduced in 2010 (Curriculum Development Centre, 2010)
This study aimed to develop a Figural Scientific Creativity Test (FSCT) which was constructed based on Scientific Creativity Structure Model (SCSM) and scored using an adapted Torrence Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) to measure six-year-old preschool pupils’ scientific creativity and ascertain the reliability and validity of this test
Summary
As the world is entering a new era, creativity is not just becoming increasingly important (Pink, 2005), but it seems that “our future is closely tied to human creativity” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). Gardner (2010), in his Five Minds for the Future, argued for the crucial role of creativity, as one of the five cognitive abilities that leaders of the future should seek to cultivate. The efforts of the MOE to develop creative thinking skills among preschool pupils have been started with the implementation of National Preschool Curriculum since 2001 (Curriculum Development Centre, 2001) and the newly-implemented National Preschool Curriculum Standard (NPCS) which was introduced in 2010 (Curriculum Development Centre, 2010). In these preschool curriculums, science is one of the disciplines that can make a contribution to the achievement of these goals
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