STUDENT CREATIVITY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT IN VISUAL ARTS IN THE CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION SYSTEM

Abstract

The present paper looks at school age children’s creativity and the potential of its growth in the context of the contemporary educational system. In broad terms, visual art education in Latvia can be categorised in three categories: compulsory prescriptive, that every child has to learn in general schools, relatively voluntary in specialised art schools and voluntary in art studios. The paper draws on the practical experience of the author while teaching art in a studio that is voluntary in attendance. Through seven years of observation the author has found that children’s creativity grows the most when they are given tasks that inspiring fantasy and lack restrictive guidelines.