Development of creativity in the first year of teaching studies: An intervention study

Abstract

This study examines the effects of an intervention program aimed at fostering creativity in first-year students pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education and Teaching in Primary Education (N = 181; 18.67 ± 1.41 years) in the context of a Spanish university by addressing socio-demographic aspects. A quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group was employed, and creativity was assessed using the CREA test. The program was implemented over an academic year in three intervention groups, involving the utilization of various creative strategies applied to problem-solving in academic tasks. It spanned 14 weeks, with one 100-min session per week, in which ten activities were introduced. Results: The intervention program has achieved a significant development of creativity in all intervention groups, being especially relevant in one of them. The importance of sociodemographic variables, gender and age, was studied. Gender differences in creativity were not detected, neither in relation to age or academic performance of the students which suggest the need for further research in this direction. The results of the intervention program highlight the importance of teaching creativity for creative development in higher education by considering the creative learning and the characteristics of the students in order to adapt the interventions. The importance of implementing initiatives to foster creativity in university students is emphasized, highlighting the need for actions focused on teacher training and longitudinal studies to evaluate long-term effects. The research highlights the importance of creativity in higher education, showing significant improvements in the creativity of students in Early Childhood Education and in Teaching in Primary Education Degrees through specific interventions.