Creativity development in art education: a proposed framework

Creativity and its development have been regarded as integral to 21st-century education. Although researchers have made several contributions to the development of creativity in schools, there remains a paucity of educational inventories on conceptual frameworks that tackle creativity development in its entirety, highlighting the essential constructs and elements required for the creativity-fostering process in the educational ecosystem. Therefore, this study proposes a framework that holistically provides a view of 11 elements necessary for successful facilitation of creativity in educational environments and the transition of creativity from policy to the local school system. These elements are: teachers’ training concerning creativity, teachers’ perspectives and understanding of creativity, innovative learning environments (ILEs) available for teachers, teachers’ context of practice, teachers’ commitment to creativity in policy, teachers’ creative practices, teachers’ creative behaviours in the classroom, teachers’ beliefs and professional experience, teachers cultural background, ideologies and influences of educational and policy documents, teachers understanding of discourses in policy, and creative pedagogies used by teachers to foster creativity in students/learners. This conceptual framework will serve as a reference for future studies intended to explicate the fostering of creativity in local classrooms across the world. It also discusses the significance of teachers and students for the development of creativity in education. The study recommends that the perspectives from the school administration and students ought to be taken into account in future studies.