The Importance of the Educational Context in the Creativity Performance of Primary Education Children

Abstract Book of the 10th International Conference on Teaching, Learning and Education

Year: 2025

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The Importance of the Educational Context in the Creativity Performance of Primary Education Children

Yolanda Echegoyen-Sanz, Eva Izquierdo-Sanchis, Antonio Martín-Ezpeleta

ABSTRACT:

Creativity is considered a key 21st-century competence, and its assessment is gaining attention, especially with its inclusion in the latest PISA tests. This study investigated how school creativity climate impact primary school children’s creativity. Participants were more than a thousand Spanish children, between 6 and 13 years of age, attending 12 different schools (including private and public schools both from rural and urban areas). Teachers completed a questionnaire to determine the environmental encouragement to creativity in schools. The creativity performance was determined via a problem-finding and solving figural task. The research established that schools are pivotal to students’ creative success. The data clearly showed that engaging in innovative educational programs and employing non-traditional teaching methods substantially enhanced student creativity. Paradoxically, this positive impact occurs despite the study’s finding that most teachers demonstrated a limited understanding of what creativity entails. Consequently, these results highlight the need for targeted training to align teacher concepts with effective pedagogical strategies. This work was developed within the framework of the CIAICO/2022/228 project, funded by Generalitat Valenciana (Consellería de Innovación, Universidades y Empleo).

Keywords: Creativity Climate, Non-Traditional Teaching Methods, School Environment, Spanish Students, Teachers’ Beliefs