Exploring beliefs and practices among teachers to elevate creativity level of preschool children

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of teacher’s beliefs on creativity construction practices of preschoolchildren in class, explore and understand the beliefs of preschool teachers on the concept of creativity, observe actual practices of preschool teachers in the classroom and identify the factors that may influence teachers' practices in the classroom. This exploratory study adopted the use of qualitative method of inquiry to provide an in-depth understanding of the area being investigated. Interview and observation of four preschool teachers were purposively selected from two government schools were used to collected data. Findings revealed that all the teachers in this study expressed their views that creativity is something related to art works. The teachers’ beliefs about how best to facilitate children’s creativity can be divided into three categories; (a) Teaching methods, (b) Classroom environment and (c) Characteristic of the teachers. The findings also reveal varieties of constraining factors which influence teachers’ classroom practices in promoting creativity for the preschool children. The implication of the findings are that further research need to conduct to identify the value in promoting creativity for children through an effective approach.