Development of an instrument to measure opportunities for imagination, creativity, and innovation (ICI) in schools

Abstract

This article describes the development of an instrument for examining schools as institutions where teaching practices and school structures provide opportunities and support for student imagination, creativity, and innovation, as well as initial comparisons using the instrument, using a sample of n = 5020 students and n = 268 teachers ( n = 161 classes of students nested within teachers). The three five-item subscales show acceptable reliability across groups (.73–.90). Paired sample t tests indicate that, on average, students reported significantly more opportunities for creativity as compared to imagination or innovation. There were also significant differences between actual student reports and teachers’ predictions only for creativity and innovation. Students reported more opportunities for creativity and innovation than their teachers predicted. However, students reported significantly less opportunity for imagination, creativity, and innovation than their teachers’ ideals. Implications for subsequent research and practice are also discussed.