How could creativity potentially impact on primary education?

The aim of this blog post is to express my view on how creativity could potentially have an impact on primary education. Creativity is a difficult word to define, people have so many ideas as on what they think creativity is.                                                                                   Sternberg & Lubart (1995) cited in Wright (2010, p.3) states "Creativity is the process of generating ideas that are novel and bring them into existence a product that is appropriate and of high quality" 

This is similar to Vernon's definition (1989) cited in Wyse & Ferrari (2014) on creativity as he thinks it is about an individual's ability to come up with new or personal ideas, inventions or creative pieces which are of great value. 

In a way, I do agree with these two definitions as I believe it is about coming up with different and interesting ideas but I also believe its about building skills to solve different problems; also everyone is creative in their own way. Froebel is also a big believer of creativity as Gray and Macblain (2012) state that "Froebel held the view that individuals were born creative" 

This chimes in with the NACCCE (1998, p.6) as they believe that "Creativity is possible in all areas of human activity" they think that when people discover their creative abilities then it has a huge influence on their health, well-being and performance. 

In Successful Futures (2015, p.43) Creativity has been put in the 'Expressive Arts Areas of Learning and Experiences' as this area offers children the chance to think about different ideas through creativity and imagination which can enhance their overall performance with the help from people around them. 

Creativity has a lot more importance in the curriculum now as its been seen to have many benefits; problem solving being one of them. Creativity can support children with problem-solving in all areas of learning, if children think creatively then they will form new ideas and problems as well as solving old ones (NACCCE,1999). 

A study by Ofsted (2006) has shown that creativity has helped with ambitions for the future and many qualities had made progress such as communication skills and team working as well as the use of initiative. 

Rinkevich (2011) cited in Schacter et al. (2006) mentions that there are some benefits of creative teaching these are that creativity strengthens learning by making it more worthwhile to the learner and it was said that student performance levels have developed from this. 

Creativity has also been seen as important in the outdoors environment as Waite & Rea (2006, p.10) state "The unpredictability of the natural world may be harnessed to rekindle excitement leading to creative teaching opportuntities." They also conducted a study in early years settings and it had shown that education whilst in the outdoors develops independence and confidence through fun, child-centred activities. this can relate to Dillon et al. (2005) as they also carried out a study and found out that children who participate in outdoor learning find it enjoyable as well as developing different skills such as team working and confidence. 

Murray and O'Brien (2005, p.13) cited in Taylor (1998) & Fjortoft (2004) states "children who play in natural environments undertake more diverse, creative and imaginative play and this is an important part of a child's development."

This relates to Forest Schools as Play Wales (2015) believes "natural settings also contribute towards agility, balance, creativity, social cooperation and concentration." 

So, from reading this blog post it shows that creativity can have a positive impact in so many different ways on primary and their overall well-being. 

What are your views on creativity?

                                          

                                                          

References:

Dillon, J. Morris, M., O'Donnell, L. Reid, A. Rickinson, M. & Scott, W. (2005) Engaging and Learning with the Outdoors - The final Report of the Outdoor classroom in a Rural Context Action Research Project, National Foundation for Education Research. Available at: http://www.bath.ac.uk/cree/resources/OCR.pdf [Accessed: 2/11/17]

Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment arrangements in Wales. Welsh Government. P. 43.

Gray, C. & Macblain, S. (2012) Learning Theories in Childhood. London: SAGE. P.17

Murray, R. & O’Brien, L. (2005) ‘Such enthusiasm – a joy to see’; An evaluation of Forest school in England. Forest Research. P.13. Available at: https://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/ForestSchoolEnglandReport.pdf/$file/ForestSchoolEnglandReport.pdf [Accessed: 2/11/17]

N.A.C.C.C.E. (1999) All our futures: creativity, culture and education. London: DfEE, p. 6, 33.

Ofsted. (2006) Creative Partnerships: Initiative and Impact. Available at: http://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/ofsted-creative-partnerships-report-15-15.pdf [Accessed: 1/11/17]

Play Wales. (2015) Why playing matters and what we can all do about it, Welsh Government. (no page number) Available at: http://www.playwales.org.uk/login/uploaded/documents/INFORMATION%20SHEETS/Why%20playing%20matters%20and%20what%20we%20can%20all%20do%20about%20it.pdf [Accessed:3/11/17]

Rinkevich, J. (2011) ‘Creative Teaching: Why it Matters and Where to Begin’ The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 84(5), pp. 219-220.

Waite, S. & Rea, T. (2006) ‘Pedagogy or place?: attributed contributions of outdoor learning to creative teaching and learning’ British Educational Research Association Annual Conference. P. 10. Available at: https://learn.cardiffmet.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/615231/mod_resource/content/2/Seminar%202%20marked.pdf [Accessed: 2/11/17]

Wright, S. (2010) Understanding Creativity in Education. London: SAGE. P.3

Wyse, D. & Ferrari, A. (2014) ‘Creativity and education: comparing the national curricula of the states of the European Union and the United Kingdom’, British Educational Research Journal, 41(1), p.32. Available at: https://learn.cardiffmet.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/528108/mod_resource/content/2/Creativity%20and%20Education.pdf [Accessed: 30/10/17]