Teachers' Emotional Supports Facilitate Early Adolescents' Creativity Self-efficacy and Performance Most: An Ecological Comparison between China and Finland

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Learning and Motivation (Table 9)

Abstract

At age 10, the so-called fourth-grade slump of creativity has been founded pervasively. To prevent the slump, this study examined the prominent family and school supporting factors for two creativity sub-dimensions (creative self-efficacy and performance) in China and Finland. In total, 6667 10-year-old adolescents (NFinland=3034; NChina=3633) from the OECD Survey-on-Social-and-Emotional-Skills were surveyed. Results indicated: (1) teachers' emotional support was the only unanimous facilitator for two creativity sub-dimensions; (2) Other supports were either effective for creative self-efficacy (e.g., parents’ supports) or for creative performance (e.g., teachers’ supports); (3) Regarding country differences, Chinese parents' autonomy support was more influential to creativity, while their emotional support was less critical than Finnish parents. Findings highlighted teachers' emotional support as a vital creativity facilitator.

Authors

• Haoyan Huang, University of Helsinki

• Xingmin Zhong, University of Auckland

• Xin Tang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University