How future preschool teachers experience creativity and its manifestation?

Nataša Milan Nikolić, Đurđa Siniša Maksimović

Pedagoški fakultet u Užicu Univerziteta u Kragujevcu, Srbija

Education for personal and professional development

Abstract

Creativity is considered one of the most important competences in the 21st century, and it is necessary to nurture and encourage it, especially among preschool children. How creativity is perceived by those who work with children is very important, considering that these subjective attitudes and ideas influence actions directed towards children and their creativity. The problem of this research is the question of how future preschool teachers, preschool teacher majors, experience creativity. The aim of this work is to examine, analyze and interpret their experience of creativity and its expression. The research is qualitative, and the focus group method was used with students of the Faculty of Education in Užice. The transcripts of the answers were the basis for categorizing and grouping the answers to individual questions and their content analysis, as well as connecting them with certain theoretical models of creativity. The results of the research show that students highly value creativity as a competence. It also shows that it is necessary for students who will work in preschool institutions to develop implicit theories, attitudes, and ideas that imply that creativity can be viewed from multiple angles (multidimensional), and especially process perspectives of creativity that indicate that creativity can be developed in every child. Furthermore, the need for personal development of creativity through various hobbies is emphasized, which can directly or indirectly affect the work of preschool teachers, considering that they are also expected to be creative and as such provide an example to the children they work with.

Key words

creativity; experience of creativity; faculty; future preschool teachers