Exploring the synergy of social-individual enablers of creativity in science: A multidimensional study of fourth graders

Abstract

Creativity is a fundamental competency of the 21st century and its cultivation—particularly in science education—has attracted substantial interest. Indeed, enablers of creativity represent a dominant field in this regard. Based on “Confluence approaches”, the study chose 14,041 fourth graders from 309 primary schools from a city in the Central Region of China, all of which completed online questionnaires that looked into the individual enablers and social enablers of creativity in science. Results of the descriptive analysis of individual enablers showed that there was a decrease observed in students’ attitude toward science, interest in science, engagement in science learning, and career orientation toward science. While the LASSO and nomogram results indicated six common variables of social enablers including teachers’ concerns about students’ interests, individualized teaching, collaborative group teaching, the infrastructure of science, after-school service in science subjects, and parent engagement in daily life. These variables consistently emerged as pivotal when predicting the correlation between social and individual enablers of creativity in science. Teaching methods (individualized teaching, collaborative group teaching) were identified as the most influential social enablers on individual enablers of creativity in science. These findings provide valuable insight into what teachers, schools, and families should concentrate on to effectively support the expression and enhancement of student creativity in science.