Fostering Creativity in Higher Education: A Study of College Educators

• Main Author: Schaap, Ben M
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Adult Basic Education; Adult education; Adult Learning; Adult Students; Educational Environment; Higher education; Instructional Design; Learner Engagement; Learning Activities; Learning Processes; Learning Strategies; Literature Reviews; Outcomes of Education; Teaching Methods; Thinking Skills
• ISBN: 9780355968996; 0355968991

Given that college students are increasingly expected to perform creatively (OECD, 2016), the higher educational environment is being held accountable for providing students with the skills and knowledge needed to be creative. Using a process-based over a product-based framework for understanding creativity can identify what traits, skills, and knowledge can be cultivated for students to exhibit creativity, by avoiding the challenges of subjectivity related to determining if an object or idea is creative. This study used Amabile’s (2012) componential theory of creativity as the conceptual framework for examining the four components of creativity (domain-relevant skills, creative-relevant processes, task motivation, and social environment). The study sought to begin the development of a tool to measure how educators and the learning environment impact the creative growth of students. The potential number of respondents for this study was approximately 1,500. The study employed a quantitative survey administered through an online form. Respondents were asked 10 questions in section one and a total of 22 questions in section two. The survey was developed based on Amabile’s (2012) componential theory of creativity. The first step in developing this tool was a survey that could measure educators’ perspectives of creativity through the importance they place on certain creative characteristics. It also measures the frequency of these characteristics within their learning environment. The self-reports of educators identified a statistically significant relationship between the importance of identified characteristics and their frequency. Further statistically significant relationships were found in respondents’ personal opinions of creativity and both the importance of and frequency of those creative characteristics in their environment. This significance helped in identifying the characteristics used in the survey as the first part of a possible tool for understanding how educators in higher education impact students’ creative growth. A focus on maintaining the social environment occurred more frequently and was found to have greater importance than the other three components. Further findings and discussion are included in this study.