Nurturing Creativity In Young Learners Crucial To Changing The World

An important takeaway from India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is the shift away from examinations and rote learning. The new policy aims to transform the education system towards meeting the needs of the 21st century. Conceptual clarity, critical thinking, problem-solving, innovation and creativity skills all take centre stage and will be pivotal to the new Indian education system. 

This was a welcome step as India’s fast-growing economy will continue to require a creative workforce that can help drive big changes and help the country become the global power it deserves to be. Creativity is a key element that ties in multiple facets of the NEP 2020. Nurturing creativity in students is really important and schools will be looking at how they do that. 

So, how do we define creativity? 

Creativity is an inherent part of learning. It is the process of producing original and unusual ideas and turning them into something relevant and useful. Not surprisingly, creativity and creative skills are hugely in demand in the workplace, cutting across sectors and professions around the world, including in fields of research, computing, and the performing arts. 

According to research done by George Land on creativity, 98 per cent of young children are creative and innovative in their thought processes when starting school, but this percentage falls to two per cent by the time they have been through the education system and reach the age of 25. One of the reasons for this could be that in some cases traditional teaching and learning practices don’t encourage students to think for themselves.

Developing creative skills in school to build a creative workforce

This rising demand for creative skills across sectors and industry, and the positive response by 81 countries to the UN creative economy this year, emphasises how important creativity is for today’s global economy. Education systems need to be more aware of this emerging requirement and help young people develop creative skills from an early age. 

Offering students, the opportunity to study creative subjects throughout their school life is key to helping them develop their creative skills. I have seen first-hand how the arts can make self-starters and help children to develop emotional intelligence. Creative subjects require students to set their own agenda from within themselves and explore unconventional areas of thought.  Having worked as a curriculum developer for many years, I have seen the benefits of embracing creativity in the classroom, which allows students to see themselves as having the potential to develop in this area. A good balance of knowledge and skills in any subject area gives teachers the ability to allow creative explorations rather than rush through quickly to a perceived ‘right answer’ or ‘product’.

This brings me to the issue of studying creative subjects and building creative skills. Research has found a correlation between studying creative subjects and students’ overall performance and wellbeing. Research by Tim Gill, Research Officer at Cambridge University Press and Assessment, found that while the number of students in England who study music is decreasing, those who do study it tend to get better results across all subjects. The research found a potential link between playing a musical instrument and higher executive functions - students with higher executive functions are more likely to have high academic attainment. Art subjects in the curriculum are also beneficial to students’ overall wellbeing and can promote good mental health.  

Fostering creativity through a holistic Primary and Lower Secondary curriculum 

Without an emphasis on creativity, whether it is in terms of creative learning or taking creative subjects, schools risk offering a one-dimensional curriculum that does not foster the full potential of young people. It is essential that educational leaders realise this and make relevant changes to their curriculum from the primary level itself and across lower secondary and higher levels.  As well as complementing an overall promotion of creativity, this will provide even more opportunities to develop the skills we know are increasingly valuable in responding to the demands of a changing world. 

Abigail Barnett

Guest Author The author is Deputy Director of Curriculum Programmes, Curriculum and Qualifications at Cambridge Assessment International Education.