KU PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Quarterly
KU Children’s Services
APRIL 2019
IN THIS EDITION
In this edition of Quarterly, we explore our
understanding of “creativity”. Belonging, Being and
Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework (p.33)
reminds us that creativity, along with curiosity and
persistence, is an important disposition that supports
children’s learning. There are many attempts to
define creativity. Some common phrases across these
definitions include “perceiving the world in new ways”,
“making connections between seemingly unrelated
phenomena to find new solutions”, “the ability to
generate different ideas” and “applying knowledge
and imagination to problem solving”.
Csikszentmihalyi (1996) has studied and written
about creativity and he proposes the following:
Creativity is a central source of meaning in
our lives…First, most of the things that are
interesting, important and human are the results
of creativity… The second reason creativity is so
fascinating is that when we are involved in it, we
feel that we are living more fully than during the
rest of life (pp.1-2).
IN THIS EDITION
He goes on to suggest that a requirement for
becoming a creative adult appears to be a keen interest
and curiosity about one’s surroundings (p.156).
What does this mean for early childhood education?
Some writers suggest that children’s creativity can be
nurtured in three respects – the creative environment,
creative programs and creative teachers. Teachers, in
particular, have an important role to play in children’s
creativity by helping them to construct their own
interpretations of the world and explore ideas and
theories (Sharp, 2004). Go on to read our feature
article by Gai Lindsay for her insights into creativity an
young children.
References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the
Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York:
Harper Collins Publishers.
Sharp, C. (2004). Developing young children’s creativity:
what can we learn from research? Topic Issue 32.
https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/55502/55502.pdf
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