The Creativity Dis-Ease: Everywhere and Nowhere

• In Event: Theoretical and Discursive Rethinkings in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

It seems that creativity is the new icon in education and has spread throughout the world. Contradictory readings of children’s artistry prompt questions about what creativity actually is, and the elasticity of the term can make it uneasy for teachers. We select some definitions from the large literature base and consider the social, political, historical and cultural discourses which shape understandings and enactments of creativity. Rethinking old pedagogies and new possibilities for teaching and learning emerge from our inquiry in the form of propositions. These propositions contain inherent tensions and contradictions and we encourage early childhood educators to think creatively about them. We consider classrooms as spaces where these competing discourses might collide, and possibly come together.

Authors

• Felicity Anne McArdle, Queensland University of Technology

• Susan J. Grieshaber, Hong Kong Institute of Education