Blog 4 - What is the value of creativity in Primary Education?

What is the value of creativity in Primary Education?

Your creative potential, sometimes known as talent, develops mainly during your childhood. It is influenced by environmental conditions, life experiences and interacts with basic cognitive developmental trends during human development (Lubart, 2015). The arts and creativity have always had a major role in enriching the education for young children (Welsh Government, 2013; Harari, 2011: 183). This has always been seen from the NACCE (1999) policies which clearly supported creativity to be cross-curricular (Craft et al, 2014; NACCE, 1999). Now 20 years later, in the new curriculum ‘Successful Futures’, Donaldson (2015) is advocating the importance of creativity and its role in cognitive development. 

Creativity falls under the ‘Expressive Arts’ AoLE, where Donaldson (2015, p 43) writes “The expressive arts provides opportunities to explore thinking, refine, and communicate ideas, engaging thinking, imagination and senses creatively”. For children who engage with the expressive arts AoLE, will develop their application, perseverance and close attention to detail (Donaldson, 2015, p. 43: Welsh Government, 2013: Craft et al, 2014). These have benefits across learning widely (Donaldson, 2015, p. 43).  Professor Dai Smith (2014) says:

 “It is clear...that countries across the world recognise the significance and potential of the arts in enabling improved educational, social outcomes”. 

By achieving success in the Expressive arts AoLE we are providing children with lifelong participation and allowing them to be a thriving member of the economy and cultural life for Wales (Donaldson, 2015, p. 44: Welsh Government, 2013: Smith, 2014). I strongly believe that creativity is as just an important skill as numeracy and literacy (Hunter-Wright, 2018). Sir Ken Robinson states that “Creative intelligence is dynamic, its diverse and its distinct” (Hunter-Wright, 2018). In schools nowadays, children are continually educated out of taking risks and don’t know what it is to fail before they inevitably succeed. Also, the ability to be adaptable has become an invaluable skill. Employers nowadays are seeking out the risk takers, challengers and candidates with a high creative intelligence. We often teach children how to be critical thinkers, but it is just as important to teach children how to be creative thinkers (Donaldson, 2015).  Encouraging learners to have the confidence to approach a concept or problem differently and creatively is vital.

As I have mentioned in other blogs, the world is ever changing. We are equipping children for jobs that have yet to be invented (Stabback, 2016, p. 4; Murphy et al, 2009, p. 6).It is our job, as educators, to provide the best kind of a ‘proactive’ attitude as society suggests and that we need to expect the unexpected (Hunter-Wright, 2018). A Creative mind is capable of adjusting to any problem and across the world countries are reforming their systems to prepare children for the demands of the 21^stcentury (Hunter Wright, 2018).

Exploring creativity is also hugely enjoyable and links in with another AoLE – Health and Wellbeing (Donaldson, 2015). Csikszentmihalyi (1997) states that “Creativity involves the production of novelty. The process of discovery involved in creating something new appears to be one of the most enjoyable activities any human can be involved in” (Barnes, 2018; Csjikszentmihalyi, 1997). But, Fredrickson claims that creativity is actually the result from happiness (Barnes, 2018; Hope et al, 2008). Either way, both these claims suggest the importance of well-being in regard to creativity. 

As part of a workshop, my seminar group ‘made music’ as part of a creative and expressive arts module. But, after we had finished singing and performing, my mind hadn’t felt clearer in days and it allowed me to switch off from essays and I felt surprisingly happy. The links below can show you what we created. We then mirrored this creative and mindfulness lesson with a primary school on a teaching opportunity - https://twitter.com/dylancerddora/status/1053287074772803585 - https://twitter.com/dylancerddora/status/1053284060435566592 .

As we have already discussed, a creative skill is essential for the future, but it is also crucial for the present. Barnes (2018, p. 83) suggests that “creativity is so important to the spirit that it cannot be confined to a particular subjects or settings”. It is vital all areas of the curriculum have a sense of creativity (Barnes, 2018, p. 83). Creativity is a part of a virtuous circle where “feelings of well-being generate creative thought and action and creativity generates feelings of well- being (Hope et al, 2008; Barnes, 2018, p. 83). 

Robinson and Aronica (2015, p. 118) believe that to be able to be creative you must have imagination. Imagination is “the ability in the moment to conceive of things beyond everyday experience”, which is crucial for creativity (Barnes, 2018, p. 84). If creativity really is the future for the children of our generation, then it is also just as important for teachers to become experts at understanding it, using it and promoting it (Barnes, 2018, p. 84; Craft et al, 2014; Lubart, 2015). To do this we need a creative classroom, a brief diagram of this is shown on the right. For better or for worse creativity is a skill of the future and it can either be exercised or extinguished within schools (Craft, 2010; Barnes, 2018, p. 97; Sternberg and Kaufman, 2010). 

This links in hugely with Paul Collards ideas – here is a link to an interesting talk he did relating to the creative classroom - https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/Paul%20Collard%20–%20What%20is%20a%20creative%20education%20and%20why%20is%20it%20important

References

1.     Barnes. J, (2018) Applying Cross-Curricular Approaches Creatively. London: Routledge. 

2.     Craft, A. (2010) Creativity and Education Futures: Leaning in a Digital Age. Stoke on Trent: Trentham.

3.     Craft. A, Cremin. T, Hay. P & Clack. J (2014) ‘Creative primary schools: developing and maintaining pedagogy for creativity’, Ethnography and Education, 9(1), pp. 16-34.

4.     Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997) Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Collins.

5.     Davies, D., D. Jindal-Snape, C. Collier, R. Digby, P. Hay, and A. Howe (2013), ‘Creative Environments for Learning in Schools’, Thinking Skills and Creativity, 80(8). 

6.     Frederickson, B. (2009) Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity and Thrive. New York: Crown.

7.     Harari, Y. (2011) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. London: Vintage

8.     Hope, G., Barnes, J. and Scoffham, S. (2008) A conversation about creative teaching and learning, in A. Craft, T. Cremin and P. Burnard (eds.) Creative Learning 3 11 and How We Document It. Stoke on Trent: Trentham.

9.     Hunter-Wright. H, (2018) The Importance of Creativity in Education – Developing Creative Intelligence Accessed at: http://www.lordwandsworth.org/the-importance-of-creativity-in-education--developing-creative-intelligence/268365.html(Accessed on: 23rd November). 

10.  Lubart. T (2015) Creativity: An interview with Prof. Todd Lubart on the multivariate approach to creativity. Slovenia: University of Ljubjana. 

11.  National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education. 1999. All Our Futures. London: DfEE.

12.  Robinson, K. and Aronica, L. (2015) Creative Schools: Revolutionising Education from the Ground Up. New York: Penguin.

13.  Smith. D (2014) An independent report for the Welsh Government into Arts in Education in the Schools of Wales: Arts Council of Wales 

14.  Sternberg, R. and Kaufman, J. (2010) The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press.

15.  Welsh Government (2013) The Welsh Government response to Professor Dai Smiths Report on ‘Arts in Education in the Schools of Wales’ Accessed at: https://beta.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-02/the-welsh-government-response-to-professor-dai-smithss-report-on-arts-in-education-in-the-schools-of-wales.pdf(Accessed on: 23rd November 2018).