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The Importance Of Creativity And Cultural Education Essay

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In 1967, The Plowden report recognised the importance of creativity, particularly in relation to the Primary Curriculum (Craft, 2001; Gillard, 2001). Subsequently, the NACCCE report identified a requirement for further investigation into creativity and cultural education (Craft, 2001; NACCCE, 1999). Nevertheless, it can be argued that creativity is complex, subjective and therefore difficult to define (Sousa, 2008; Kersting, 2003).

One possible definition of creativity is ‘imaginative activity fashioned so as to yield an outcome that is of value as well as original’ (NACCCE, 1999, page 31). Traditionally, creativity has been associated with exceptional people or those who are artistically gifted (Education Scotland, 2001). However, in recent years, distinctions have been drawn between ‘big-C’ creativity (an act of genius) and ‘little-c’ creativity (‘everyday creativity’) which enables people to problem-solve and adapt to change in everyday scenarios (Kersting, 2003, Craft, 2014; May, 2007). Nevertheless, Planche (2012) claims that many people do not perceive themselves as creative. The concept of everyday creativity is important, for if this premise is accepted, it may be said that everyone has creative potential (Sternberg, Grigorenko, and Singer, 2004).

Following the NACCCE Report (1999), the Rose Report indicated that cross-curricular work should be adopted to strengthen and enhance children’s learning (Hayes, 2010). There are a variety of ways to integrate creative

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