Creativity in early childhood teacher education: beliefs and practices

The aim of this study was twofold: (a) To carry out an in-depth investigation of pre-service teachers (PTs) beliefs regarding creativity and the perceived barriers of creative processes within early childhood education, and (b) To examine the extent to which PTs reflect their creativity within their pedagogical practices. The participants (n = 45) were university seniors attending an early childhood education programme. The study results demonstrated a lack of knowledge and experience regarding creativity in education as one of the most stated inadequacies among PTs, and as a result, a need for additional coursework and/or practice-based courses regarding creativity in order to more adequately familiarise PTs with a breadth of approaches that incorporate creativity across the curriculum. The results also revealed that the most common barrier recognised in creative processes of PTs was pressure on teachers due to the parents' expectations regarding student outcomes. The results of this study provided a more comprehensive look into the nature of creativity from a holistic perspective as well as how to improve early childhood teacher education programmes in terms of effective teaching strategies for creativity.