Abstract:
The topic of creativity has been of interest to researchers throughout time. Yet issues regarding the definition, genesis, assessment, and influential factors of creativity remain varied and controversial. Diverse experiences have been considered as one of the factors that has an influence on creativity. Although creativity in early childhood education [ECE] is perceived to be a widely recognised concept, few studies that relate directly to the influences which give rise to the genesis of children’s creativity have been done in this field. This thesis explores the influence of diverse experiences on creativity as it pertains to children’s everyday encounters with their environment, people and materials through investigating young children’s engagement in dramatic play in early childhood settings. Diverse experiences contain a variety of aspects, including the social and cultural context of the educational environment, the teachers’ background and ethos, as well as the materials provided in the physical settings. This research investigates how diverse experiences support the generation of young children’s creativity as interpreted through their engagement in dramatic play, and what a learning environment might look like where young children’s creativity is valued and encouraged. A sociocultural theoretical framework is selected to shift the location of creativity from the individual to the contextual factors such as interactions between self and others, and new and existing artefacts.
The focus of this research is addressed through observations of children from two ECE settings in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. An understanding of the context of the children’s participation in dramatic play is supported through interviews with the parents and teachers. The conceptualisation of creativity in this research primarily draws on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of creativity. To reflect the nature of free play in New Zealand’s ECE settings, young children’s creativity was investigated through child-led dramatic play. Based on a sociocultural framework of distributed creativity, children’s creativity in dramatic play was described as generated and enacted in relation to the sociocultural context through interactions with peers and adults, and with play materials and cultural artefacts. This thesis presents a rich description of children’s creativity through dramatic play that critically illustrates how young children’s creativity is influenced by the diverse experiences in their daily encounters with people, places, and things. This study also provides an insight into the ways teachers and parents create supportive early childhood environments for creativity to be cultivated, while taking into consideration the diverse experiences children may bring to their dramatic play. This opens up the possibility for further studies in other art forms such as visual arts, music, and dance, to provide empirical evidence about planning, assessment, and pedagogical practices that contribute to enhancing an understanding of children’s creativity as it pertains to the diverse experiences children encounter in their everyday lives.