Young children's creativity education in the context of Lithuania: A systematic review

Abstract

The importance of creativity in addressing a diverse range of issues and the urgency of fostering it through education from a life-long learning perspective have been recognised in strategic and educational policy documents at both European Union and national levels. While recognising the key role of creativity in driving positive change, Lithuania has considerable room for further growth in fostering creativity amongst its citizens. The growing interest of researchers in studying creativity education can make it difficult to remain at the cutting-edge of knowledge. Since creativity is a culturally grounded construct, it is significant to examine the available evidence in a context-specific setting in order to inform future research directions and facilitate comparisons across contexts. The systematic review aims to explore the state of empirical research on creativity education in the Lithuanian context, focusing on young children of early childhood education and care (ECEC) and primary school age. The study involves a systematic search, appraisal, and synthesis of empirical research evidence published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between 2000 and 2022. The review identifies key trends and gaps in the empirical research evidence on the matter and draws recommendations for future research. The studies reviewed (n = 36) tended to focus on young children's creativity education in the arts, the role of the educator in creating a learning environment conducive to creativity development, and the characteristics of such an environment. Limited interest was expressed in creativity education in domains other than the arts, through non-formal educational activities or through the use of state-of-the-art digital tools.