The Effects of Creativity Training on Pre-school and Elementary School Students

Given the role creativity plays in the contemporary world, the creativity training was investigated in elementary schools. To this end, two studies were conducted. The first study examined the effect of teaching creativity on elementary student's creativity. Initially a pre-test devised by the researcher was administered to both experimental group (67 subjects) and control group (58 subjects). Then the experimental group participated in a 12-week creativity training course. The results of the tests taken by the experimental and control groups were analyzed, using recurrent measurements. The findings showed a significant difference between the two groups with the experimental group outperforming the control group. Drawing on these findings showing the positive effect of creativity training on student's creativity, the second longitudinal and qualitative study was conducted on 40 pre-school and elementary male and female students in 4 consecutive summers. This study aimed to develop a native model which instructors can use for the purpose of teaching creativity to students. Showing the positive effect of creativity training on student's creativity, this study also provides a model which illustrates how creativity training methods can be applied. Moreover, it provides the teachers and trainers with guidelines regarding the content of a creativity course.