Creativity

Introduction

Creativity can be seen as ambiguous, there are many definitions depending on the context it is used in. Creativity in an educational context can be explained as the ability or power to create or to bring into existence as well as to produce through imaginative skill (Wilson:2005).

Creativity is an important aspect of the curriculum as it allows children to explore physical creation and imagination. According to Starko (2005) “without creativity there is no art, no literature, no science, no innovation, no problem solving and no progress”. This illustrates the importance of creativity within the classroom to encourage children to increase the pace of their progression.

According to Craft et al (2001) historically, children were expected to behave in a passive way and when receiving instructions, they must be obeyed. Most common activities took place in the classroom where ‘complying from the board or book, listening to the teacher speak for long time and class discussion’ (38). If these passive activities are represented in the classroom then creativity does not appear to be dominant.

However, Dobbins (2009) states that recent government literature asserts an expectation of greater creativity in teaching. This shows that the government expectation is that primary school staff should ‘be creative and innovative in how they teach and run the school’ (Department for Education and Skills,DfES, 2003a: 4). This provides schools the opportunity to enhance and enrich the school curriculum. Therefore, this indicates that in the recent years creativity has progressed. Futhermore, Graham (2008) states we have a much better understanding of how creativity develops. It is a potential in everyone, it is our role of teacher to awaken that potential . However, Hunt (2010) suggested that it is not enough to just rely on fine arts classes to infuse creativity into our students, although they are critical. We must also find ways to incorporate creativity...