THE UNDERSTANDING AND ORIGIN OF CREATIVITY AMONG GHANAIAN BASIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

Abstract

This study was conducted to find out the perspective of teachers at the basic education level in Ghana about the understanding, origin and promotion of creativity in school children. In all, 213 teachers between the ages of 19 and 63, with at least 3 years teaching experience in the basic school completed questionnaires on teacher-fostering creativity scale. The results showed that teachers’ understanding of creativity does not differ from the generally accepted definition, which is, producing something novel or producing something novel for the benefit of society. Majority of the teachers also view creativity as a function of the environment rather than genetic. However, there was no difference in the promotion of creativity between teachers who view creative potential as a function of the environment and those who view it as genetic. This study exposes teachers to the meaning and origin of creativity and also encourages them to promote creativity among their pupils due to their understanding of creativity as a function of the environment. The implications of the study are discussed.