Effects of Creativity Training on the Creativity of Selected Primary School Pupils in Urban Enugu
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Date
1990-08
Authors
Obiesie, L.N
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Publisher
University of Lagos
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of a researcher made creativity training programme on the creativity of primary school pupils in Enugu. Anambra State, Nigeria. The investigation also examined the differential creative performance of males and females who were grouped into high and low levels of academic achievement and intelligence quotient. The dependent variables in the research were the pre-and post-test creativity scores, while academic and grade levels were the independent variables. A total of 256 pupils (128 males, 128 females) drawn from two public primary schools in two urban localities (Uwani and Ogui) in Enugu, were selected through stratified random sampling method from each of the schools. Sixty-four pupils (32 males, 32 females) were randomly sampled from each of the four classes (grade levels) two through five in the schools. Torrance tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), Figural Form B which consists of three different test activities, developed by Torrance (1974), was used to collect the data on the pupils' creativity (pre- and post-tests). The creativity tests were scored for fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration and finally for total score. Descriptive statistics was used to assess the scores of the testes in all the three variables of creativity, achievement, and intelligence. The major research results, using t-tests for independent and correlated samples indicate that: (a) There is no significant difference in the pre-training creativity test result of the control and experimental groups. (b) There is a significant difference in the post-training test results of the two main groups, with higher scores from the experimental group results. (c) The creativity programme is the major cause of significant differences in the results of the testees in the two main groups. (d) There is no significant difference in the pre-and-post-creativity test performance of the male and female sub-samples in the control and experimental groups. (e) The high or low level of academic achievement or intelligence of the testees has little or no effect on their performance in the creativity tests. The correlational analyses indicate that: (a) There are high significant correlations between the pre-and post-test scores of the control testees. (b) Creativity and intelligence are correlated for the control and experimental groups. This shows that intelligence is necessary for creative response. (c) Intelligence and academic achievement are not correlated for all the testees except for the weak but significant correlation between these two variables recorded for the experimental male testees. (d) There are weak but significant correlations between creativity and achievement for the control and experimental groups. The correlational analyses indicate that a sufficient level of intelligence maybe a necessary condition for the nurturance of creativity in young children. It was also found that a high intelligence quotient may not necessarily mean a high academic achievement among the testees. The ANOVA results indicate that: (a) Creativity training is necessary at all primary classes since no differential performance was recorded for the control and experimental groups at any particular grade level. (b) Male and female students can equally benefit from a creativity training programme. given similar or undiscriminatory environmental conditions. The result points to the fact that cultural values are reflected in the behaviour of individual within it. The greater motivation given to the modern school-age child, irrespective of sex is also a positive force of a good creative responde. Results of the factorial ANOVA indicate that: (a) The creative response may be higher between some control and experimental groups' sub-samples in the grade levels. (b) There is a greater mean difference for the experimental than for the control group. This reiterates the assertion than an organised training programme is a boost to creativity. It is recommended that creativity training be given to children at the primary school level in order to develop their reasoning skills and to enable them adduce relations between learned concepts and phenomena in their environment. A necessary condition for creativity is freedom and independence to explore with ideas and objects. The primary school curriculum should stress child-centred classroom activities rather than teacher-dominated lessons.
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Keywords
Creativity Training , School Pupils
Citation
Obiesie, L.N (1990) Effects of Creativity Training on the Creativity of Selected Primary School Pupils in Urban Enugu. University of Lagos School of Postgraduate Studies Phd Thesis and Dissertation Abstracts. 278pp.