The Development of Creativity

Abstract

This article discusses the important scholarly contributions to our understandings of creativity, education, and the arts. I describe many important contributions, beginning with Dr. Ellen Winner’s foundational studies of child development and the arts in the 1970s and 1980s. I identify several common themes throughout her career. First, I characterize her work as problem finding in nature—exploring new areas and identifying promising new research questions. Second, I discuss the interdisciplinary nature of her work—describing the broad range of empirical studies she has conducted, not only in the arts but also topics ranging from dyslexia to wisdom later in life. Third, I summarize her important contributions to our empirical understandings of the benefits of arts education. Finally, I describe the deeply collaborative nature of her work, noting students and colleagues that she has published with.