The Influence of Art Activities on the Creativity of Junior Schoolchildren

Introduction. There is a consensus among practitioners teaching art to children that the very process of art education develops children’s creativity. However, in scientific psychology, there is no consensus on the advantages of children being involved in art, as evaluated by the generally accepted criteria for measuring creativity. The purpose of the study is to identify differences in creativity indicators in children involved and not involved in art, as well as the characteristics of creativity in different types of art. Materials and Methods. Our purpose was to clarify in which types of art study the indicators of creativity are higher. The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking was used to assess creativity. The sample comprised 312 children with an average age of 9.4 years. Participants were divided into three subgroups: children engaged in music, drawing, or dance; and children not engaged in any art forms. The study was conducted at supplementary education institutions and secondary schools focusing on children with at least two years of experience in their chosen art form to ensure developed skills. Results. Results showed that children participating in art programs displayed significantly higher levels of creativity, particularly in terms of detail, originality, and abstract thinking, compared to children without such involvement. However, the scores for originality and fluency were lower for the children involved in the arts. There were differences in the intensity of creativity indicators between the different types of art. Children engaged in art showed higher scores on the creativity scales associated with non-verbal intelligence. Those not involved in art were more creative in expressing ideas - verbal intelligence. Discussion and Conclusion. The results obtained by the authors contribute to the development of problems of creativity of children involved in art. The findings of this article are of practical importance for teachers of music and art schools, psychologists and teachers in the field of educational psychology and art.