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39
Rashidi S.M.
Faculty member and PhD student of Educational Psychology, Baku State University
ROLE OF THE FAMILY IN FORMATION AND GROWTH OF CREATIVE THINKING AMONG CHILDREN AND JUVENILES
Аннотация
Исследования показали, что появление творческого мышления и творческого потенциала тесно связано с семейным положением. Учитывая то, что детство является самым важным периодом в развитии творческого потенциала, семью рассматривают как самый фундаментальный элемент в формировании этого потенциала. Творческий потенциал один из самых высоких и самых сложных действий ума человека, который должен учитываться в воспитании и обучении. Творческий потенциал определяет соотношение не только интеллекта и мышления, а также и формирование личности человека. В данном исследовании сделана попытка изучить важную роль семьи и существующие препятствия в детском творческом мышлении. Ключевые слова: семья, творческое мышление, творческий потенциал, подростковый период
Summary
Several studies have approved that appearance of creative thinking and creativity are in close relationship with family status. Taking this point into account that childhood is the acutest step in creativity growth, family is considered as the most fundamental element in formation of creativity. Creativity is one of the highest and most complex activities of human being's mind that should have been considered in teaching and training. Creativity is relating to not only intelligence and thinking but also to organization of individual's personality. The present research attempts to study and discuss the influential role of the family and present obstacles on the way of children's creative thinking. Key words: family, creative thinking, creativity, teen years
Introduction
One of the most important distinctions between human beings and other beings is his thinking power and creativity - Power for altering the mind, and power for discovering and producing new instruments and thoughts, and all of these are somehow considered as creativity. All human beings are, more or less, creative and we enjoy this ability with different levels. What is of importance is that we should be able to make it develop and flourish and take it into service. Creative thinking can also be considered as the best weapon for fighting against the problems. Creative thinking is an ability that can be observed in all dimensions of human's life. Through creative thinking, man can increase his potencies and remove his problems and make progress towards the perfection and advancement.
Concept of Creativity and Trend of Creative Thinking
By taking a look at valid resources about creativity, innovation, and creative thinking it can be seen that they originate from the type and way of thinking in human beings. In fact, a creative individual is the one who enjoys seeker and inventor mind. There are different definitions for the concept of creativity and some of them are in conflict with each other. However, the following definition is the one that has generally been accepted:
"Creativity is the individual's ability to produce ideas and sights using new and novel things and renewed rebuilding in sciences and other fields that can be considered as genuine by specialists and valuable from the scientific, aesthetics, technology, and social points of view" (Vernon 1989, p 94).
Frederic Frobel one of the most famous and creative trainers has taken the creativity issue
into account and he asks whether creativity is an internal or external process, if it requires discipline of self motivation? He believes that creativity is one of the most requirements of the man.
Nowadays, the psychology framework allows us to support the idea that creativity is not an innate process, but it can be taught. Through education we can teach children to think about the possibilities of uncommon ways and engage in difficulties by divergent thinking and gain appropriate solutions for them. The problem is that we allow the trainers to think in this field that the creativity process is not a pre-fabricated one, but it is a productive and changeable process (12). Halpern defines creativity as "ability to shape a new combination of views or ideas to reach a need or realize an aim. According to Perkinz creative thinking is such a kind of thinking that has been formed to lead some new and modern results.
According to William James, all of us enjoy abilities and the talent of creativity but, unfortunately, we learn during the life time and on the path of education we learn to be non-creative. In other words, generally some kind of learning from home environment, school, or society make us to be accustomed to convergence thinking (Perent Hai 1977, p 517).
In Ansbeck, Arnold, Mailee Encyclopedia of psychology creativity has been figured as capacity for seeing new relations, bringing uncommon thoughts into view and to keep distance traditional models of thinking. According to Doren and Paro (Par, t 1991) creativity is a complex talent different from intelligence and cognition of activity and probably a function of thought flux, inductive reasoning, some innate qualities, characteristics and also divergence intelligence to the extent that this very intelligence causes differences in solutions and product to be favorable.
Definition of Creative Thinking
Creative thinking is a skill by means of which one can enjoy integration of problem solving skills and making decisions using fluent thoughts and gain the power for discovering and selecting new solutions.
Different Types of Thinking from the Point of View of Gilford
1. Divergence thinking = creative thinking = creativity
2. Convergence thinking = noncreative thinking = lack of creativity
In Gilford's theory divergence thinking has been formed of some different factors as follows:
1. Fluency: producing some thoughts at the same time
2. Flexibility: producing different uncommon thoughts and different solutions for a single problem
3. Originality: taking the advantages of unique and new solutions.
4. Elaboration: producing the details and determining the hints and usages
5. Synthesizing: putting disparate thoughts side by side
6. Analyzing: breaking the symbolic structures into their components
7. Organizing: changing the forms of plans, usages and cases where they can be used
8. Complexity: ability to encounter some different self relating thoughts, simultaneously
Stages of Creative thinking:
1. Being ready: at this step a person understands the types of phenomena that have engaged his/her mind to himself/herself
2. Studying: more study and revision about phenomena in order to improve them
3. Changing: understanding the types of relationships among phenomena and putting some mental questions forward to be studied and criticized
4. Expertness: having a deeper cognition about relationships among phenomena
5. Illumination: gaining access to sudden responses that are uttered by phrases such as Oh! I got it
6. Investigation: studying the best ideas from among different ones
7 .Executing: accomplishing the idea(s) that has (have) been approved at previous stage(s) Some of the Famous Methods in Creative Thinking:
1. brain storming method or communal problem solving
2. synectics model
3. questions that stimulate ideas (list of the questions i.e. Scamper comparative list
4. Delphi technique
5. nominal group technique
6. Morino mirror technique
7. forced association technique
8. morphological analysis
9. speculative excursion
10. Bionics modeling
11. lateral thinking
12. analyzing what refers to the aim
13. KJ technique
14. list of qualities
15. (TRIZ) disciplined innovation method
Family is one of the most important fundamental organizations that helps the child's growth. It is among the family members that the child obtains his/her first outlook for the world around and feels his or her presence. It is also in family life that the child finds out about national formalities, discharging of duty, and scope of powers and responsibilities. In fact it is the kind relationship among family members that effects on growth formation of child's and juvenile's personality (Parsa, 2001). Among different countries and social groups we encounter considerable differences regarding the relationship between parents, in other words, the ways they train their children. During the last three Christian decade methods used for child training have been crude and inflexible. On those days, parents were advised not to spoil their children by embracing them when they begin to cry. They were also advised to feed the child according to a fixed plan (whether they are hungry or not). This completely inflexible method has, to some extent, been under the influence of behaviorism school. There is a room for hesitation in that most parents have been using this inflexible method, but in any way specialists of those times have had such opinions about the matter (Atkinson, 1982, 3).
In 1940s, and in readiness for permissiveness and inflexibility, the trend of child training methods was greatly been changed. In the present decade theories on child training were influenced by psychoanalysis school, the school in which emotional importance of the child and damages due to intense control of his/her natural impulses were emphasized. Under Dr. Benjamin guidance, parents were proposed to follow their natural intuitions and make use of inflexible plans which were in agreement with both their own and their children's needs (Atkinson, 1983).
It seems that nowadays parents are feeling that permissiveness is not responsive for their problems. Nowadays, our society needs creative individuals more than ever and that, the rate of advancement in a society depends on the way the young generation is being trained. The issue of creativity is one of the most important problems in the field of academic psychology. In case of creativity and cognition of children it should be mentioned that a child needs some requirements and appropriate environment before he can be a creative individual. Qualities of creative and non-creative individuals have caused some discussions about the relationship of family environment with creativity so that it is now believed that family environment of creative individual is something other than that of non-creative person (Kefayat, 1994).
Therefore, creativity is a complex issue whose cognition and flowering, some kind of talent, needs to provide modern educational methods and the importance of this issue in today's technical society, especially in computer world, and is becoming more tangible.
Enjoying creative individuals is one of the wants and wishes of every family and society and that the presence of creative and persons seems crucial. Nowadays, specialists in education and scientists have fount that creativity is not available for just a few people, but all human beings enjoy creativity, however, possibility for appearance and its rate is different in different people. According to scientific achievements, although human beings carry creativity talent with themselves upbringing of this very talent and paving the way for its appearance require instruction. Both formal and informal kinds of education, and consequently, parents themselves have important and determining roles in this regard. No doubt, house and family environments as the primary and most important social environments in which the child opens his/her eyes towards the world have the most influential roles in controlling and guiding the imagination and appearance of creativities.
Certainly, family life has the most important role in controlling and guiding the imagination and appearance of creativity. Families should provide necessary requirements for different activities of children and give them required chances for questioning, curiosity, and discovering the environment. Repeated punishments and threats are considered as scourges for mental creativities. The ground for the growth of creativity in house environment is made ready when they are given freedom, have been respected, their parents approach them moderately from the emotional point of view and emphasize on moral values and special rules. Imagination power and creativity in children are strengthened by encouraging and approving their behaviors and providing appropriate grounds and required preparations for their favored plays. Children's daydreaming shouldn't be blamed by parents; otherwise, their creativity will be limited.
Motivation is the most important factor in appearance of creativity, and bringing motivation and talent into agreement simultaneously, is an instrumental factor in creativity. Children's social environment and approving the creative motivation is much more helpful than emphasizing the talent.
Background: (foreign)
1. Williams (1990): Being actively in touch with natural, social, and cultural environment may have fruitful effects on output of creativity. He believes that from the information and knowledge point of view, the more the family and educational environment of the child is rich, the more the output creativity of the child is. More informal and freer environments have relatively harmful effects on creativity and they will not be able to empower the creativity in its healthy way in individuals. Pal Torrens asserts that the environment which enjoys both freedom of speech and safe relationship is considered as the best environment regarding the creativity nourishment, especially when some rewards are also taken into account for creative behaviors.
2. Albert & Rancho (1987) have done widespread researches about the effectiveness of family on children's creativity. They have come to the conclusion that children and adults who have been superior in mathematics and sciences, and enjoy genius have had different family backgrounds compared to other individuals.
3. McKinnon (1962) believes that observing the following points by parents will cause the child to be creative in future.
- more respect
- freedom of action in discovering the environment
- freedom in decision making
- freedom of action
- lack of much dependence between the child and his/her parents
- parents lack of anxiety over their children
- wide family environment
4. Getzter & Jackson's Researches (1962) have approved the fact that parents of creative children rarely make use of autocracy and disciplinary limitations in their training methods.
- these children enjoyed more freedom in behavior and decision making, but less
creative children had regular, traditional and more bureaucratic families.
5. Dwing (1970, quoted by Galaker, 1985) states the three basic characteristics in relation to creativity in children as follows:
a. broad-mindedly training
b. parents' different intellectual and wide tendency
c. feeling of emotional separateness of parents toward the children
6. Kroply (1962; quoted by Kalager, 1965) has come to the conclusion that:
- parents of creative children believe in giving freedom to their children, accept their ideas and opinions, and entitle them not to agree with their own parents.
7. anthropologists such as Rodgers and Mezgo believe that: innate independence, lack of dependence, and resistance against fanatic social control are necessary for creative activity.
- family's emotional atmosphere is in direct relationship with children's creativity growth. Kind relationship among family members causes feeling of emotional-psychological security in children, and it will give required self-confidence to the child for innovation and novelty.
8. Guwan (1989) has cared about the relationship between creativity and emotional growth. He has come to the conclusion that in psychologically secure environment children can easily experience dangers and they easily use their innovative power.
9. In his studies on training requirement of 400 people from among notable individuals of the 20th century, Gurtzel & Gurtzel (1962) came to the conclusion that almost family environment of all people who finally become outstanding persons is full of love for learning.
10. Katami & Elkaisi (1995) came to the conclusion that there is a significant difference between creative and non-creative individuals regarding some social, economical and educational factors. Local:
1. Noori - Ma'rfaavi (2003): came to the conclusion that from among the family factors the following significant relationships are present:
-economical-social base with flowing and flexible elements
- family population with flowing elements and expansion
- parents' education with flowing elements, expansion, flexibility and the entire creativity
2. Javidi (1994): came to the conclusion that there is a direct relationship between children's creativity and families with democratic environments.
3. Yazdchi (2002): came to the conclusion that from among the family factors, social-economical base is in significant relationship with creativity.
Methods of Bringing the Creativity into Existence and Training the Creativity in Family and School Environments:
1. creating the motivation among the students
2. encouraging the students to research and investigation
3. putting new subjects forward
4. creating appropriate educational atmosphere
5. using audio-video equipments
6. respecting the students
7. giving priority to extracurricular activities
8. studying and doing research
9. respecting the normal and abnormal ideas of the children
10. making desirable and stimulating questions
11. recognizing and distinguishing children's talents
12. giving freedom in action to the children
13. respecting the children and believing their abilities
14. encouraging the children, by their parents, because of doing creative works
15. being governed by values rather than laws
16. having positive imaginations about the future of the Children
17. observing the things from near distances and manipulating Them
18. accomplishing the things and defective affairs
19. preparing appropriate opportunities for learning Obstacles on the Way of Creativity in Family Environment
1. excessive emphasis of parents on intelligence and memory of the children
2. creating competition among the children
3. excessive emphasis on the sex of the children
4. prescribing rigid and restrictive regulations in family environment
5. parent's lack of knowledge on real concept of creativity
6. repeated critiques on children's behaviors
7. considering the children's imaginations as useless
8. lack of knowledge on innate interests of the children
9. lack of risibility in house environment
10. imposing the role of an adult person to the child Conclusion:
1. creativity process is not innate, it can be taught.
2. therefore, it's better for us to teach our children to think about uncommon ways and by divergent thinking to study difficulties and find appropriate solutions for them.
3. we should give opportunity for educators to think about the concept that creativity is not a pre-constructed process, but it is a productive and changeable trend.
4. all of us enjoy the ability and talent of creativity but, unfortunately, during the life time and education we learn to be non-creative individuals.
5. in the general level, learning environments, including house, school and society may accustom us to think divergently.
6. family is the most important and fundamental organization that helps creative thinking be developed
7. Nowadays, our society (Iran) needs creative individuals more than ever.
8. recognizing the creativity and causing it to be flourished as a talent require preparation for modern training methods.
9. creativity is not a quality available just for a few individuals. The last Point:
Let's give support to the imaginations of our children, and then it will be surprising to see their flights high in the sky.
Refrence
1. Atkinson,; w(1982). The main of acherement - oriented activity. inj.D.Krumboltz (Ed.), Learning and The education process. Chicago.
2. Runco & R.S.Albert (Eds) theories of Creativity (Pe6-91). New bury Park ca: Stage (1987).
3. Govan,G.c (1980). The use of developmental Stay Theory in helping gifted childeren becom Creative. Gifted child quarterly Vol. 2410
4. Vernon, P.E.; (1989). Nature-Nature in Creativity in C-l over. And Other. Hndbook of Creativity. Newyork, plennm Press.
5. Williams F.E; (1990). Creativity Project Macalevter College Saint Paul. Minnesota.
