School climate and students’ attitudes toward creativity

Abstract

Before creative behavior comes the belief that creativity is valuable and worth the risk. In this study, we propose that a positive school climate - a learning environment that is experienced as safe, supportive, and inclusive by the students - can foster more positive attitudes towards creativity in students and result in more creative behavior. Survey data were collected at three time points from 5274 students across a network of 31 high schools in Mexico, measuring student self-reported perceptions of school climate, academic goals, attitudes toward creativity, and digital creative behavior. Linear regression analyses reveal that school climate (Time 1) is a significant predictor of students’ attitudes toward creativity (Time 2), and that attitudes toward creativity (Time 2) is a significant predictor of subsequent creative behavior (Time 3). Future directions for deepening this line of research and implications for educational policy are discussed.