Secondary Teachers and Creativity in Teaching: Conceptions and Practices

Abstract

In recent years, there seems to be a sharp shift towards the concept of creativity in education. Given that many theorists and researchers find it difficult to define the concept of creativity itself, this paper will attempt to investigate a) the conceptions about creativity in teaching of 5 teachers of humanistic subjects (Modern Greek Language, Ancient Greek Language, History, Greek Literature) in Greek secondary education b) how these specific conceptions are reflected in their teaching practices and c) the degree to which certain teaching strategies that seem to better facilitate creativity in teaching. The research data were collected from five (5) interviews, transcripts and worksheets of ten (10) teachings and including field notes. Data were analyzed by the method of grounded theory. Data analysis showed that the emphasis is placed on "creative teaching" rather than on "teaching in order to develop student’s creativity", as distinguished by Jeffrey and Craft. The most important finding of the research is that despite their good intentions or stated open perceptions, the research subjects do not systematically promote students’ creativity unless they abandon their regulatory role and leave a genuine space of self-efficacy to their students. The authors conclude that further research is needed to answer the following questions: why is the model of creative teacher dominant and not that of the teaching that promotes students’ creativity and in what extent and in which ways is creativity defined by specific cognitive subjects.