In-service and prospective teachers’ conceptions o

ThinkingSkillsandCreativity4(2009)15–29ContentslistsavailableatScienceDirectThinkingSkillsandCreativityjournalhomepage:’conceptionsofcreativityPanagiotisKampylisa,∗,EleniBerkib,PerttiSaariluomaaaUniversityofJyväskylä,DepartmentofComputerScienceandInformationSystems,AgoraCenter,P.O.Box35,FIN-40014Jyväskylä,FinlandbUniversityofTampere,DepartmentofComputerSciences,Kanslerinrinne1,PinniB,FIN-33014Tampere,FinlandarticleinfoArticlehistory:Received2June2008Receivedinrevisedform26September2008Accepted16October2008Availableonline1November2008Keywords:ConceptionsofcreativityImplicittheoriesofcreativityPrimaryeducationIn-serviceteachersProspectiveteachersabstractTeachersplayacrucialroleinthedevelopmentofprimaryschoolstudents’creativepotentialineitherapositiveoranegativeway.Thispaperaimstodrawattentiontoin-serviceandprospectiveteachers’conceptionsofcreativityandanswerthreemainresearchquestions:“Whataretheteachers’conceptionsandimplicittheoriesofcreativityingeneral?”,“Whataretheteachers’conceptionsandimplicittheoriesofcreativityinthecontextofprimaryeducation?”,and“Howwell-trainedandequippeddoteachersfeeltoplaytheirkeyroleinthedevelopmentofstudents’creativepotential?”Aself-reportquestionnairewasusedasaninstrumenttogatherqualitativeandquantitativedatafrom132Greekin-serviceandprospectiveteachers.Accordingtotheselectedquantitativedatawepresentinthisstudy,themajorityoftheparticipantsreportedthatthefacilitationofstudents’creativityisincludedintheteachers’role,butthey(teachersthemselves)donotfeelwell-trainedandconfidentenoughtorealisethisparticularexpectation.Theauthorsconcludethatfurtherresearchisneededinorderto:(i)revealmoreonteachers’conceptionsoncreativityand(ii)understandandclassifyteachers’particularneedstofacilitatethecreativepotentialofprimaryschoolstudents.©2008ElsevierLtd.Allrightsreserved.1.IntroductionandbackgroundWeliveinthecreativeageofinformation,communicationandcollaboration;creativityisconsideredkeyforpersonalandsocialprosperity(Florida,2002;Florida&Tinagli,2004;Valtanen,Berki,Kampylis,&Theodorakopoulou,2008).Theknowl-edgetriangle–research,education,andinnovation–isacorefactorinEuropeanUnioneffortstomeettheambitiousLisbongoals(Davies,2006).Theroadmaptoaknowledge-centredsocietyisbasedoninnovationprocessestocreateintelligenteconomiesinEuropeancountries(Florida&Tinagli,2004;Sawyer,2006a).Theimportanceofschoolinginthedevelopmentofstudents’creativityiswell-documented(e.g.Cropley,2001;Starko,2005)andtheconcernforcreativityintheprimaryeducationmilieuhasincreasedinrecentyears(Craft,2006;Sawyer,2006a).Teachers’roleinthedevelopmentofprimaryschoolstudents’creativityisveryimportant,becausetheyactasrolemodelsandmentorsandspendaconsiderableamountoftimewithstudents.Gardner(1993)stressedtheimportantrolethatteachersandmentorshaveplayedinthelivesofhigh-creativeindividualsand,accordingtoBerki(2005),mentoringisassociatedwithindividualandorganizationaldevelopment.Ifwewanttoachievetheorganizationaldevelopmentofeducationtowardscreativeschools,weneedteacherswhocanengageinthecomplexexpressionofcreativeagency(Kowalski,1997).However,thereareseveralethical,cultural,social,andeducationaldilemmasthatteachersfaceinrealclassroomsettings(Craft,2003;Valtanenetal.,2008).Moreover,WestbyandDawson(1995)pointedoutthecontradictionbetweenteachers’self-reports,∗Correspondingauthor.Tel.:[phone];fax:[phone].E-mailaddresses:panagiotis.g.kampylis@jyu.fi,[e-mail](P.Kampylis),[e-mail].fi(E.Berki),psa@jyu.fi(P.Saariluoma).1871-1871/$–seefrontmatter©2008ElsevierLtd.Allrightsreserved.doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2008.10.00116P.Kampylisetal./ThinkingSkillsandCreativity4(2009)15–29accordingtowhichtheyvaluecreativity,andtheresearchfindingsthatrevealedteachersdislikepersonalitytraitsassociatedwithcreativity—suchasrisktaking,impulsivity,andindependence.AccordingtoWestbyandDawson(1995),thisisbecauseteachers’maineffortremainstomaintainorderanddisciplineintheclassroom.Inaddition,TorranceandSafter(1986)reportedthatteachersareinfact“ill-equipped”tofacilitatestudents’creativepotentialmostlikelybecause,asMack(1987)pointedout,littleknowledgeabouttheconceptsofcreativityispassedontostudentteachersbytheprofessorsofeducationalcourses.Thewordcreativity,ontheotherhand,isfrequentlyusedineducationalcontentsandcontexts–aswellasineverydaydiscourse–withvaguedefinitions.Therefore,thereisafundamentalneedtoexposewhatteachersreallymeanandwhataretheirimplicittheorieswhentheymakeuseofthewordcreativityanditsvariouscognates.Thisisvitalifwewanttocertifythatteachers(i)knowhowand(ii)wanttofacilitatestudents’creativepotential(Runco,2003).Thus,oneshouldfirstunderstandtheteachers’conceptionsandimplicittheoriesofcreativity.Implicittheoriesandteachers’conceptionsofcreativitygainedtheinterestofresearchers(Runco&Bahleda,1986;Sternberg,1985,1988)inthemid-1980s.Thepioneeringresearchers(Runco&Bahleda,1986;Sternberg,1985,1988)con-cludedthatindividualsusetheselatentbutexistingtheoriesinidentifyinganddescribingcreativitybothin