Journal Article

Children's Creativity: A Theoretical Framework and Systematic Review

van Geert, Paul, McPherson, Gary, Kupers, Elisa, Lehmann-Wermser, Andreas

2019

Overview

Within education, the importance of creativity is recognized as an essential 21st-century skill. Based on this premise, the first aim of this article is to provide a theoretical integration through the development of a framework based on the principles of complex dynamic systems theory, which describes and explains children's creativity. This model is used to explain differing views on the role of education in developing children's creativity. Our second aim is empirical integration. On the basis of a three-dimensional taxonomy, we performed a systematic review of the recent literature (2006-2017, 184 studies) on primary school students 'creativity. Our results show that creativity is most often measured as a static, aggregated construct. In line with our theoretical model, we suggest ways that future research can elaborate on the moment-to-moment interactions that form the basis of long-term creative development, as well as on the mechanisms that connect different levels of creativity.

• Publisher: SAGE Publications,American Educational Research Association
• Subject: Child Development / Children / Creative Development / Creative Thinking / Creativity / Dynamic systems theory / Education / Educational Environment / Educational Policy / Educational Theories / Elementary School Students / Frameworks / Individual Differences / Interaction / Learning Processes / Personality Traits / Primary education / Primary school students / Student Development / Student Motivation / System theory / Systematic review / Systematic reviews / Systems Approach