Creativity Education in an Age of Uncertainty: Development and Implementation of a Creative Failure Education Program Based on Intelligent Failure

In an era of increasing uncertainty, creativity education demands a strategic approach that transforms failure experiences into valuable learning assets. This study aims to develop a creative failure education program based on the concept of Intelligent Failureand to examine its educational effectiveness through application in a liberal arts course at the university level. The program was structured into three stages—Theory, Transition, and Practice—guided by six development criteria derived from theoretical review. It was implemented over seven weeks with 28 students enrolled in a creativity-related liberal arts course. A qualitative analysis of students’ self-evaluation data revealed a positive shift in their perceptions of failure, as they came to view it as a strategic opportunity for learning and growth. Participants also recognized the value of sharing failure experiences and the importance of collaboration, ultimately accepting failure as a core component of creative problem-solving processes. Furthermore, through the intentional design and execution of failure scenarios, students reported increased confidence and willingness to take on challenges. These findings suggest that the systematic integration of failure-based learning into creativity education can foster students’ creative competencies and growth mindsets. Notably, by enabling students to actively experience the constructive relationship between creativity and failure, and by structuring opportunities for sharing and reflecting on failures, this study highlights new possibilities for leveraging failure as an educational resource.