Self-perceptions of primary school students about their creativity and wellbeing

Abstract

In recent years interest around creativity and wellbeing has been growing. Specifically, creativity has gained increasing attention as an essential skill desired by employers (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2015). Future citizens of the world are expected to find creative solutions to emerging problems. Moreover, individuals are also encouraged to look after their wellbeing. In addition to the importance attributed to creativity, an increasing focus on wellbeing is noticeable in the extant literature. In view of this, a better understanding of how individuals feel about their own creativity and wellbeing is necessary. Various scales have been developed to assess self-perceptions of creativity. However, most of these measures were used with adult populations rather than with younger individuals. In the area of wellbeing on the other hand, scales have been created to be purposely used with children and youth. This paper aims to contribute to the body of literature exploring creative self-concept and perceived wellbeing of primary school children through the use of validated scales. Data was gathered from 512 students aged between 9 – 11 in Malta (EU). Preliminary findings suggest a strong positive correlation between creative self-efficacy and wellbeing. Moreover, McLellan and Stewart’s (2015) four factor solution for Wellbeing could not be confirmed. Instead, a three-factor solution emerged using 12 of the original items.