Creativity in Education and Learning: A Guide for Teachers and Educators

A study of creativity in the context of education, an issue of great importance for teachers and students alike. It considers just how creativity "works" and how it can be encouraged. The book has an international and an historical sweep, and features many examples.

Review

CHOICE 2002 Outstanding Academic Title. Every once in a while reviewers run across a book that they cover with highlighting and commentary. "Creativity in Education and Learning" is just such a volume. Despite its subtitle, it also serves as a fine handbook for researchers. It summarizes the literature on creativity and organizes the scholarship in a way that is easy to refer to for information or for citation purposes: Cropley claims that the focus of the book is on everyday creativity rather than on the transformative variety that is associated with genius and great performance. However, the author cannot avoid comparing what we know about eminent individuals' personality traits and work processes with the instruments we use to judge creativity in school, at home, and in the office. Some of the especially interesting topics addressed include differences between childhood and adult creativity, 50 years of successful and unsuccessful efforts to measure creativity, and the role of personality in creativity. The last chapter, on fostering creativity in higher education, offers thoughtful and provocative proposals that are in stark contrast to what is offered in programs designed for developing transformative performances or products. Highly recommended at all levels." --- R. F. Subotnik, American Psychological Association in CHOICE