HOW CAN UNIVERSITY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS’ CREATIVITY? LITHUANIAN STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Students’ creativity has been increasingly researched in higher education. Until recently, however, empirical studies investigating students’ views of how universities can contribute to the development of their creativity have been rare. The present study aims to investigate how university learning environment can contribute to undergraduate philology students’ creativity as seen by the students themselves. The data were collected through questionnaires and analysed using qualitative research method of content analysis. The general conclusion of this study is that the study participants consider that universities can foster their students’ creativity in some ways. Firstly, they think that university curriculum should contain assignments aimed at developing student creativity. Prominent among the findings was the students’ belief that their university teachers are important contributors to this process. Besides, the students considered that their creativity can be developed by introducing a special study subject, by enhancing their transferable skills, and that more collaborative learning and special university events could make an impact on their creativity. On the other hand, the results of the present study have also revealed some challenges that call for further research.