Teacher and Student Factors as Correlates of Creative Ability among High-Achieving Secondary School Adolescents in Ibadan North, Oyo State Nigeria

Creativity in Nigerian schools is hindered by limited teacher training, scarce resources for creative projects, and an education system that undervalues creativity. Cultural factors, such as a focus on authority and tradition, further discourage unconventional thinking. This context highlights the need to examine how teacher and student factors correlate with creativity among high-achieving secondary school students in Ibadan North, Oyo State. Using a descriptive survey, 200 high-achieving secondary school students were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires The study addressed three key questions and tested two hypotheses using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis at a 0.05 significance level. Results revealed that creative ability was greatly related to teaching style (r = .355, p <0.05), professional development (r = .221, p < 0.05), teachers’ beliefs and feelings about creativity (r = .281, p < 0.05), and instructional methods (r = .260, p < 0.05). Also, motivation (r = .248, p < 0.05), learning styles (r = .117, p < 0.05), emotional intelligence (r = .207, p < 0.05), and academic self-concept (r = .240, p < 0.05) all showed important relationships. Collectively, these factors explained 27.3% of the variation in creativity. In particular, motivation (β = .226, p < 0.05), learning style (β = .181, p < 0.05), emotional intelligence (β = .163, p < 0.05), and self-concept (β = .161, p < 0.05) made notable contributions. Based on these findings, it is recommended that schools and policymakers encourage creativity through targeted psychological and curriculum-based strategies.