Creativity in Higher Education According to Graduate Programs' Professors

Abstract

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of fostering creativity in higher education. The benefits of creativity to individuals and societies have also been increasingly recognized, as well as the key role of higher education in the information age. In spite of this recognition, there has been little research exploring creativity in graduate courses. This study addresses this issue. We examined professors' view of the importance attributed to creativity in higher education, especially in graduate programs, and what actions the University, as an institution responsible for the development of professionals, should take to stimulate professors' and students' creativity. Twenty Brazilian professors were interviewed and the data were submitted to content analysis. The results indicated that all professors considered creativity very important in higher education, especially in Sciences and Humanities graduate programs. The reasons for why it is important to foster creativity in higher education were related to its role in the production of knowledge, innovation, society's demands, and the possibility of using creative strategies to motivate students. The participants suggested planning and promotion of several activities that encourage creativity, the removal of barriers that stunt creativity and infrastructure improvement as procedures to enhance professors' and students' creativity by the higher education institution.