Extracting the creativity within : a review of Education and creativity, edited by Elżbieta Osewska

Abstract

One would expect a book with such a title – Education and Creativity – to be about pedagogy within a school context, which it is not. Or rather, it is much more than that. Although essays such as Stanko Gerjolj’s on emotional, moral and religious intelligences deal specifically about the class community, the book is not just about schools. Thankfully, the word education, which appears in the title, is used more broadly. So is the word creativity. Creativity is mostly understood as discovery, or as the innovative re‑combination of ideas, but it is also linked to dialogue and communication. Naturally, there is, within the book as a whole, an evident attempt on the part of the editor, to establish the relationship between creativity and education. Throughout the book, the reader learns about creativity within the field of education, about creative teaching, about creative learning, and about creative learning environments. We are also made to reflect upon teaching for creativity, learning for creativity, the relationship between different kinds of intelligences and creativity, as well as upon the more practical possibility of establishing a policy of creativity in education, and of introducing the education of creativity within the curriculum. The book also participates in the current conversation concerning the role of various individuals: teachers, pedagogues and parents, in developing the creativity of pupils, as well as the role of various educational settings (family, parish, clubs, and other institutions) where creativity is concerned.