Abstract
Creativity is a topic of wide global interest, often discussed in fields such as education, psychology and business (Runco, Divergent thinking and creative potential, Hampton Press, New York, 2013; Yoruk and Runco, Journal for Neurocognitive Research 56:1–16, 2014). However, the relationship of pedagogical practices in early childhood education and care (ECEC) as it applies to the development of creative thought processes of young children is a relatively new area for investigation. This paper presents recent research that examines the role of the educator as an intentional teacher within Australian early learning environments and investigates the relationship of this role to children’s developing creativity. Theoretically informed by Vygotsky’s sociocultural constructivist approach (Vygotsky, Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1930, 1978) and neo-Vygotskian theories on creativity (John-Steiner and Moran, Educational Psychologist 31:191–206, 2012), this paper explores some of the beliefs and understandings of educators on creativity. Furthermore, this paper exposes some of the misconceptions of educators about children’s creative thinking as they engage in play-based learning activities. The evidence from this Australian study suggests that the role of the educator is pivotal in assisting children in the early development of creative thinking thus challenging their role as educators.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Find the latest articles, discoveries, and news in related topics.References
Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity. New York: Springer.
Anderson, J. V. (1994). Creativity and play: A systematic approach to managing innovation. Business Horizons, 37, 80–85.
Aretoulakis, E. (2016). Forbidden aesthetics, ethical justice, and terror in modern western culture. London: Lexington books.
Boudah, D. J. (2011). Conducting educational research: Guide to completing a major project. London: Sage.
Carlile, O., & Jordan, A. (2012). Approaches to creativity. A guide for teachers. New York: Open University Press.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1994). The domain of creativity. In M. Csikszentmihalyi & H. Gardner (Eds.), Changing the world: A framework for the study of creativity (pp. 135–158). New York: Praeger.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003). Key issues in creativity and development. In R. K. Sawyer, V. John-Steiner, J. Moran, R. J. Sternberg, D. H. Feldman, J. Nakamura & M. Csikszentmihalyi (Eds.), Creativity and development (pp. 228–229). New York: Oxford University Press.
DEEWR. (2009). Belonging, being and becoming: The early years learning framework for Australia. ACT: Council of Australian Governments: Commonwealth of Australia.
Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself. Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. New York: Penguin Group.
Eliot, L. (1999). What’s going on in there? How the brain and mind develop in the first five years of life. New York: Bantam Books.
FDfEE. (2012). Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Department for Education and Employment. Retrieved from http://www.education.gov.uk/publicationDetail/Page.
Feist, G. (2004). The evolved fluid specificity of human creative talent. In R. Sternberg, E. Grigorenko & J. Singer (Eds.), Creativity from potential to realisation (pp. 57–82). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Feldhusen, J., & Goh, B. (1995). Assessing and accessing creativity: An integrative review of theory, research, and development. Creativity Research Journal, 8(3), 231–247.
Feldman, D. (1999). The development of creativity. In R. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 169–186). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Flick, U. (2005). An introduction to qualitative research. London: SAGE.
Gardner, H. (1982). Art, mind, and the brain. New York: Basic books.
Gardner, H. (1988). Creativity: An interdisciplinary perspective. Creativity Research Journal, 1, 8–26.
Geertz, C. (1973). Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. In Y. S. Lincoln & N. K. Denzin (Eds.), Turning points in qualitative research: Tying knots in a handkerchief (pp. 143–168). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Geertz, C. (1993). Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. New York: Fontana.
Goswami, U. (2004). Neuroscience and education: from research to practice? British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 1–14.
Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5, 444–454.
Hargreaves, A. (2003). Teaching in the knowledge society. Education in the age of insecurity. New York: Teachers College Press.
Isen, A., Daubman, K., & Nowicki, G. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1122–1131.
John-Steiner, V., & Mahn, H. (1996). Sociocultural approaches to learning and development: A Vygotskian framework. Educational Psychologist, 31(3/4), 191–206.
John-Steiner, V., & Moran, S. (2012). Creativity in the making: Vygotsky’s contemporary contribution to the dialectic of development and creativity. Oxford Scholarship Online. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195149005.001.0001.
Ladkin, D. (2004). Action research. In C. Seale, G. Gobo, J. Gubrium & D. Silverman (Eds.), Qualitative research practice (pp. 536–548). London: Sage.
Leggett, N., & Ford, M. (2013). A fine balance: Understanding the roles educators and children play as intentional teachers and intentional learners within the Early Years Learning Framework. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 38(4), 42–50.
Lempert, L. (2007). Asking questions of the Data: Memo writing in the Grounded Theory tradition. In A. Bryant & K. Charmaz (Eds.), The Sage handbook of Grounded Theory (pp. 245–289). London: Sage.
Litjens, I., & Taguma, M. (2010). Revised literature overview for the 7th meeting of the network on early childhood education and care. from OECD EDU/EDPC/ECEC(2010)3/REV1.
Lubart, T. (1994). Creativity. In E. C. Carterette, M. P. Friedman & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The handbook of perception and cognition (Vol. 12:Thinking and problem solving) (pp. 289–332). New York: Academic Press.
Malaguzzi, L. (1998). History, ideas, and basic philosophy: An interview with Lella Gandini. In C. Edwards, L. Gandini & G. Forman (Eds.), The hundred languages of children. The Reggio Emilia Approach-Advanced reflections (pp. 49–65). Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.
McCain, M., Mustard, F., & Shanker, S. (2007). Early years study 2: Putting science into action. Toronto, ON: Council for Early Childhood Development.
Nutbrown, C. (1996). Children’s rights in early education. London: Paul Chapman.
Plucker, J., & Beghetto, R. (2004). Why creativity is domain general, why it looks domain specific, and why the distinction does not matter. In R. J. Sternberg, E. Grigorenko & J. Singer (Eds.), Creativity from potential to realisation (pp. 153–167). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Richards, R. (2010). Everyday creativity: process and way of life - Four key issues. In J. C. Kauffman & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of creativity (pp. 189–215). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Robinson, K. (2001). Out of our minds. Learning to be creative. West Sussex: Capstone Publishing Limited.
Rodd, J. (1994). Leadership in early childhood education: The pathway to professionalism. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context. New York: Oxford University Press.
Root-Bernstein, M., & Root-Bernstein, R. (2006). Imaginary worldplay in childhood and maturity and its impact on adult creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 18(4), 405–425.
Root-Bernstein, R. S. (2002). Aesthetic cognition. International Journal of the Philosophy of Science, 16, 61–77.
Runco, M. (1990). Implicit theories and ideational creativity. In M. A. Runco & R. S. Albert (Eds.), Theories of creativity (pp. 234–252). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Runco, M. (1991). Divergent thinking. Norwood NJ: Ablex.
Runco, M. (1999). Tension, adaptability and creativity. In S. Russ (Ed.), Affect, creative experience and psychological adjustment (pp. 165–194). Ann Arbor: Braun-Bumfield.
Runco, M. (2007). Creativity. Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press.
Runco, M. (2013). Divergent thinking and creative potential. New York: Hampton Press.
Russ, S. (1993). Affect and creativity: The role of affect and play in the creative process. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Russ, S. (1999). Play, affect, and creativity: Theory and research. In S. Russ (Ed.), Affective, creative experience, and psychological adjustment (pp. 57–72). Philadelphia: Braun-Brumfield.
Sawyer, R. (2003). Emergence in creativity and development. In R. K. Sawyer, V. John-Steiner, J. Moran, R. J. Sternberg, D. Feldman, J. Nakamura & M. Csikszentmihalyi (Eds.), Creativty and development (pp. 12–60). New York: Oxford University Press.
Sawyer, R. (2006). Explaining creativity. The science of human innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sawyer, R., John-Steiner, V., Moran, S., Sternberg, R. J., Feldman, D. H., Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003). Creativity and development. New York: Oxford University Press.
Simonton, D. K. (1993). Foresight and insight: A Darwinian answer. In J. Brockman (Ed.), Creativity: The reality club (Vol. 4, pp. 465–494). New York: Touchstone.
Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2005). Birth to eight matters! Seeking seamlessness - continuity? Integration? Creativity? Paper presented at the TACTYC Annual conference, Cardiff.
Spriggs, M., & Gillam, L. (2008). Consent in paediatric research: An evaluation of the guidance provided in the 2007 NHMRC National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. Medical Journal of Australia, 188(6), 360–362.
Sternberg, R. J. (2003). Wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesised. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (2005). Creativity or creativities. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 63(4-5), 370–382.
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. (1999). The concept of creativity: Prospects and paradigms. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 3–15). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Swanborn, P. (2010). Case study research: What, why and how? London: Sage.
Sylva, K. (2010). Quality in early childhood settings. In K. Sylva, E. Melhuish, P. Sammons, I. Siraj-Blatchford, & B. Taggart (Eds.), Early childhood matters: Evidence from the Effective Pre-School and Primary Education project (pp. 149–165). Abington, Oxon: Routledge.
Torrance, E. P. (1974). The Torrance tests of creative thinking. Benesville, IL: Scholastic Testing Services.
Urban, K. (2004). Assessing creativity:The test for creative thinking-drawing production (TCT-DP). The concept, application, evaluation, and International studies. Psychology Science, 46(3), 387–397.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1930, 1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wallach, M., & Kogan, N. (1965). Modes of thinking in young children: A study of the creativity-intelligence distinction. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Ward, W. (1968). Creativity in young children. Society for Research in Child Development, 39(3), 737–754.
Weisberg, R. (2006). Expertise and reasons in creative thinking. In J. C. Kauffman & J. Baer (Eds.), Creativity and reason in cognitive development (pp. 7–42). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Yin, R. (2003). Case study research design and methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage publications.
Yin, R. (2011). Qualitative research from start to finish. New York: The Guilford Press.
Yoruk, S., & Runco, M. (2014). The neuroscience of divergent thinking. Activitas Nervosa Superior: Journal for Neurocognitive Research, 56(1–2), 1–16.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leggett, N. Early Childhood Creativity: Challenging Educators in Their Role to Intentionally Develop Creative Thinking in Children. Early Childhood Educ J 45, 845–853 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0836-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0836-4