Chien, Li-Jung; (2019) 'Possibility Thinking' and pedagogy in Taiwan's Education System. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Many countries have implemented creativity education during the past decade in order to improve the creativity of their children. The realisation of creativity education not only depends on the curriculum or policy, but also the nature of the pedagogy in the classroom, especially the teacher-children interaction. The curriculum for schools and colleges should focus on ‘skills’ like learning to learn, communication, critical thinking and problem-solving, ICT, handling information, and literacy and numeracy in order to conceptualise and develop a common understanding of “real” creativity in both learning and pedagogy (Burnard et al., 2006, Craft et al., 2008); however, the importance of “questioning skills” still needs to be emphasised. Craft (2001, 2002) proposes that ‘Possibility Thinking’ (PT) can be construed as being the engine of everyday or ‘little c’ creativity (Jeffery and Craft, 2004); furthermore, PT relates to everyday creativity so that ‘little c’ creativity focuses on individuals’ potential to be creative and the everyday problem-solving they encounter during their daily lives (Craft, 2000, 2001). PT can help teachers to interpret the requisite tools for children’s creative learning and enable them to understand how creativity manifests itself in learning opportunities across educational settings (Burnard et al., 2006). Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore what constitutes PT in children’s learning experience and how teachers’ pedagogical practice fosters their PT as an aspect of creativity in Taiwan’s education system. A multiple-case study is utilised as a research approach that focuses on three classes in Taiwanese primary schools with very different characteristics. After reviewing the previous studies of PT and teacher’s pedagogy conducted by Craft, Cremin, Burnard, Dragovic and Chappel (2012), the studies of children’s PT for teachers’ pedagogy by Cremin, Burnard, and Craft (2006) and Lin (2011) were used as the main approach to this study’s conceptual framework. The preliminary findings indicate that the children’s PT corresponded with the teachers’ pedagogical practices in different courses and classes and affected the PT of children in these primary schools. Moreover, there was also evidence that external factors, such as policy implementation, curriculum structure, background of classes, and teachers’ professional training, all affected the children’s PT and the teachers’ pedagogical practices and were included in the conceptual framework to explain the current status of Taiwanese primary education in depth in this research.

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