Korean Science Teachers’ Understanding of Creativity in Gifted Education

Abstract

With the passing of Korea's Gifted Education Act, creativity has come to the forefront in considering the future of Korea's economic prosperity in the global economy (Korean Educational Development Institute, 2003). The purpose of this study was to examine the understanding of creativity among Korean science teachers of gifted students. Sixty teachers participated in this study with an open-ended questionnaire about their understanding of creativity. The data were analyzed based on Urban's (1995) three components of creativity. The findings indicated that these science teachers had a thorough understanding of the cognitive component and a strong association of creativity with intellectual ability, but overidentified with the cognitive component, showing less awareness of the personal and environmental components of creativity. To shift their understanding to a more balanced view, personality and environmental components, as well as attributes in other component areas, should be emphasized.