Teachers’ creativity nurturing behaviours in Zambian schools: are our teachers doing enough?.
Date
2024
Authors
Kaani, Bestern ; Daka, Harrison ; M’kulama, Abel ; Nisbert Machila
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Global Scientific Journal
Abstract
Creativity plays a crucial role in fostering innovative thinking and driving socio economic development, particularly in developing countries like Zambia. However, it remains unclear to what extent schools, especially teachers, encourage and harness their students' creativity. This study had to achieve two objectives: first, to determine the behaviours of teachers that promote creativity among their students, and second, to evaluate the impact of teacher characteristics such as age, academic qualifications, level of teaching, and gender on their ability to nurture creativity. The study involved forty-eight in service teachers who were enrolled in a degree programme at the University of Zambia. These teachers were administered with the Creativity Nurturing Behaviour Scale for Teachers, which assessed their overall creativity and specific components such as abstraction, creative thinking, motivation for creativity, and inquisitiveness during classroom interactions. The results revealed that teachers demonstrated slightly above-average abilities in fostering creativity, with motivation for creativity being the most effectively nurtured trait, while creative thinking appeared to be the least effectively nurtured. Teacher characteristics had only modest effects on enhancing creativity among learners. Interestingly, age and level of teaching showed an inverse relationship with creativity, as younger teachers were found to be more effective than their older counterparts, and primary school teachers were better at fostering creativity compared to secondary school teachers. Additionally, female teachers were found to be more adept at nurturing creativity than male teachers. These findings
contradict the results observed in individualistic Western societies but align with those from more collectivistic societies. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and educators regarding the abilities of teachers to nurture creativity in Zambia.
Description
Article