The role of the school innovative climate in the relationship between proactive personality and creative behavior among students from Chinese normal colleges

As China advances towards becoming an innovation-driven nation, nurturing creativity in normal college students—future educators—is crucial, as it enhances their teaching strategies and supports the cultivation of innovative talents essential for national development. This study aims to explore the relationship between cognitive flexibility and school innovation climate in the context of normal college students’ proactive personality and creative behavior. A total of 1795 normal college students were assessed using the Proactive Personality Scale, Cognitive Flexibility Scale, School Innovation Climate Scale, and Creative Behavior Scale. The results of this study showed that normal college students’ proactive personality positively predicted creative behavior (β = 0.526, p < 0.001), and cognitive flexibility played an intermediary role in the relationship between normal college students’ proactive personality and creative behavior [CI: 0.200, 0.322].The interaction term between proactive personality and school innovation climate had a significant positive predictive effect on creative behavior (β = 0.094, p < 0.01). In both high and low school innovation climate groups, proactive personality positively predicted creative behavior through cognitive flexibility. However, the high-scoring group showed a more significant impact compared to the low-scoring group. This study enriches the theory of creative personality, emphasizing the positive influence of individual traits, cognitive processes, and environmental factors on creative behavior. Furthermore, it provides a deeper understanding of the mechanism through which proactive personality influences creative behavior, offering valuable insights and guidance for future interventions in creative behavior.