Source: Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Volume 32, Issue 3, 2011, p. 240-255.
The current study examined how preservice teachers view the nature and role of creativity in light of the complexities of contemporary early childhood classrooms.
A multiple methods approach was utilized.
Data were collected with the Questionnaire Examining Student Teachers' Beliefs about Creativity (Diakidoy & Kanari, 1999) survey instrument and through a qualitative examination of a learning community whose members were preservice teachers engaged in their student-teaching semester.
Findings indicate that the vast majority of preservice teachers valued creative thinking. However, they voiced concerns over their own unclear understandings of how to support children's creative endeavors in complex classroom environments.
Additionally, this research strongly suggests that early childhood teacher educators take a supportive role in the development of preservice teachers' understandings of the interrelationships between content, pedagogy, and creativity in early childhood classrooms.
Reference
Diakidoy, I. N., & Kanari, E. (1999). Student teachers' beliefs about creativity. British Educational Research Journal, 25, 225 - 243.