Exploring Creativity in Social Studies Education for Elementary Grades: Teachers’ Opinions and Interpretations

Abstract

Creativity is the critical point to developing innovative and effective citizens and children in learning social studies. The purpose of this study is to explore how creativity is promoted in social studies classrooms for young children and to research teachers’ opinions and interpretations of creativity in Turkish elementary schools. The study was conducted with in-depth interviews, teacher observation, and teacher drawings. The participants included 33 Grade -1 to Grade 4 (K1-K4) teachers, all of whom taught “life science” which is a key and preliminary subject for social studies from Grade 1 to Grade 3, and social studies for Grade 4 in central Turkey. The case study was used as a qualitative methodology. The data was analyzed using MAXQDA-11. The findings revealed that teachers were highly motivated and eager to nurture creativity in their students’ social studies learning in their implication for practice. They also indicated some obstacles regarding low-quality curriculum and instruction, teachers’ negative perceptions in promoting creativity, and finally a lack of teacher flexibility, freedom, and well-qualified professional development.