ERIC Number: EJ949377
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0175
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Through Multiple Lenses: Implicit Theories of Creativity among Indian Children and Adults
Sen, Rekha Sharma; Sharma, Neerja
Journal of Creative Behavior, v45 n4 p273-302 2011
This constructivist qualitative enquiry reveals a multiplicity of implicit theories of creativity extant in Indian culture with generic and domain specific usage of indigenous terms. Creativity was dominantly construed as a faculty of the nature of "pratibha", in keeping with Indian philosophical thought, and with reference to the self, with participants invoking the holistic self, cognitive self, experiential/emotional self and physical self to describe creativity. The sense of creativity in these seemingly disparate, self-based construals, the uncovering of which is the unique contribution of this study, derived from the person's experience of a sense of "agency", rather than merely the production of novelty "per se". This emphasis on process; novelty being central for some but epiphenomenal for others; the varied meanings of "newness"; experiencing creativity as self-expression, self-extension, self-fulfillment and self-actualization; and equating creativity with the act of learning reflect distinctive elements of implicit theories that have emerged in this study. (Contains 5 tables and 1 footnote.)
Descriptors: Constructivism (Learning), Creativity, Children, Adults, Foreign Countries, Cultural Differences, Indigenous Populations, Cultural Context, Interviews, Indo European Languages, Teachers, Parents, Principals, Students, Teacher Educators
Creative Education Foundation. 48 North Pleasant Street Suite 301, Amherst, MA 01002. Tel: 508-960-0000; Fax: 413-658-0046; e-mail: contact@creativeeducationfoundation.org; Web site: http://www.journalofcreativebehavior.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: India
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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