Educational researchers' personal explicit theories on creativity and its development: a qualitative study

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate implicit theories of educational researchers on creativity and the potential to support creativity in schools. We used qualitative thematic analysis of material produced by 27 educational experts from Serbia. Personal explicit theories about manifestations of creativity are mainly based on qualities and behavior of a creative person, while there are notable differences in manifestations of creativity at different ages. There is a prevalent belief that the school can contribute to the development of creativity to a large extent. The paper broadens the field of investigation into implicit theories on creativity, from exploring the creative personality to a developmental dimension of creativity and to the possibilities of supporting creativity in the school setting.