Title:
FOR CREATIVE STUDENTS, WE NEED CREATIVE TEACHERS: THE VIEWS OF SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS ON PROMOTING CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM

Authors:
Andreja Kozmus* and Sara Kaucic , Slovenia

Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of Slovenian primary school teachers on creativity. In the theoretical part we analyse the importance of creativity in finding solutions for today's global problems, explore the didactic competences of teachers in promoting student creativity, and examine training in the field of creativity. We also emphasize the importance of the courage needed to take an autonomous stance in relation to existing curricula and educational policies, for the education of future autonomous and critical thinkers. In the empirical part, we present a survey of the attitudes of 196 Slovenian primary school teachers on creativity in teaching, according to gender, years of service, level of teaching and the subject area of taught. We were interested in the general attitudes of teachers toward creativity, their views on the amount of knowledge in the field of creativity they possess, the frequency of participation in training on different creative methods, the frequency of using various teaching methods and in actual examples of encouraging creativity in teaching. We found that teachers had positive attitudes towards creativity. Class teachers are more likely to encourage creativity than subject teachers, and among the latter, language and art teachers are more likely to promote it than science and social studies teachers. Teachers acquire knowledge in the field of creativity at seminars and through their own research. Seminars are most often attended by language teachers. According to teachers, the school management does not particularly encourage them to do so.