Teacher Preparation for Creative Teaching

Abstract

This qualitative enquiry, based, on interviews with teacher educators and student–teachers, examines teacher preparation programmes from the point of view of enabling student–teachers to practice and implement creative teaching. Although the respondents held a process view of creativity and conceived of creative teaching within the constructivist framework, this broad–based conceptualisation did not appear to translate into the actual process of teacher preparation which seemed to be characterised by a more narrow vision and by several limitations in practice. Creativity was seen as a value-addition rather than as being integral to the teacher education programmes, and did not seem to be consciously planned for. It seemed that the contents of the syllabus and the activities of lesson planning and observations as practices themselves limited the scope for ‘creative’ teaching. Wherever it was a part of the process, it was through the educators’ and student–teachers’ intrinsic motivation and interest; these instances however, demonstrate the importance of bringing and facilitating creativity in teacher preparation.