Creativity According to Purpose: A Curriculum Theory Approach

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Curriculum Theory-Making: Tensions and Possibilities

Abstract

Developing creativity in students has become regarded as a necessity in public education but there is a problem: studies have demonstrated that teachers don’t know what creativity is, let alone how to teach it. How can they come to a better understanding? Using the four curriculum “ideologies” in Shiro’s Curriculum theory: Conflicting visions and enduring concerns (2008), this paper proposes a curricular framework to guide the teaching of creativity based on the conceptions of creativity as held by curriculum theorists of each ideology. This new framework can be used as both a tool for teachers to understand creativity, and as way to reveal the ideological purposes that underlie the inclusion of creativity in the curriculum.

Author

• Trevor Strong, Queen's University