Teachers' Perceptions of Creativity and the Ways in Which It Can Be Encouraged in an EFL Classroom

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Stavovi nastavnika prema kreativnosti i načinima njezina poticanja u nastavi engleskog jezika
• Author: Kristina Rak
• Mentor: Renata Geld (mentor)
• Mentor: Ante Kolak (komentor)
• Committee member: Stela Letica Krevelj (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Renata Geld (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Ante Kolak (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2021-07-05, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Pedagogy; Didactics

Abstract

Teachers' attitudes towards creativity and creative students may affect their teaching practices as well as their willingness to foster creativity during their lessons. This study aimed to investigate how teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) perceive creativity and creative individuals; how, and if, they encourage creativity in their classrooms, and how they assess it. Seven elementary school and five high school EFL teachers participated in the study. The study is composed of three parts: a semi-structured interview with all of the participants, the participants’ assessment of the compositions written by three elementary school and three high school students, and seven classroom observations. The results showed that teachers have positive attitudes towards creativity and believe that it is something that needs to be encouraged both in the EFL classroom as well as in other subjects. EFL lessons are seen as providing plenty of opportunities for fostering creativity. The teachers reported encouraging creativity by giving students interesting tasks, both written and oral, which they can work on in pairs or groups. Furthermore, they view creative individuals, both teachers and students, in a mainly positive light. The assessment of students’ compositions showed that teachers believe that a person’s creativity can be hindered if they lack the linguistic knowledge needed to express themselves in a certain language. Most participants mentioned that they assess creativity only formatively, but they take it into consideration when grading students.

Abstract (croatian)

Stavovi nastavnika prema kreativnosti i kreativnim učenicima mogu utjecati na njihovu praksu kao i na njihovu spremnost da potiču kreativnost u svojoj nastavi. Engleski kao strani jezik pruža mnoštvo prilika za poticanje kreativnosti. Cilj ovog istraživanja je otkriti stavove hrvatskih nastavnika engleskog jezika prema kreativnosti i kreativnim osobama, potiču li te na koji način kreativnost u svojoj nastavi te kako ju vrednuju. Ovo istraživanje sastoji se od tri dijela: polustrukturiranog intervjua provedenog s 12 nastavnika engleskog jezika, vrednovanja šest učeničkih pismenih radova, te sedam hospitacija. Rezultati su pokazali da nastavnici imaju pozitivne stavove prema kreativnosti te smatraju da ju je potrebno poticati ne samo na satovima engleskog već i na drugim predmetima. Međutim, oni uglavnom doživljavaju kreativnost kao alat koji im pomaže motivirati učenike te čini nastavu zabavnijom. Nastavnici najčešće potiču kreativnost na nastavi dajući učenicima zanimljive usmene i pismene zadatke na kojima rade u parovima ili grupama. Nadalje, oni vide kreativne osobe, i nastavnike i učenike, u pozitivnom svjetlu. Vrednovanja učeničkih radova pokazuju da nastavnici smatraju da nedostatak lingvističkog znanja može negativno utjecati na kreativnost. Sudionici istraživanja kažu da ne vrednuju kreativnost, ali ju uzimaju u obzir pri ocjenjivanju.

• Keywords: creativity; creative writing; English as a Foreign Language; teachers’ perceptions
• Keywords (croatian): kreativnost; kreativno pisanje; engleski kao strani jezik; stavovi nastavnika
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:383848
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: TEFL; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Study programme: Title: Pedagogy (double major); Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra pedagogije (magistar/magistra pedagogije)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2021-07-05 17:34:42