In this study, the influence of teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and opinions regarding the creative and intellectual abilities of primary school children on the achievement of these children is...Show moreIn this study, the influence of teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and opinions regarding the creative and intellectual abilities of primary school children on the achievement of these children is investigated. Intelligence and creativity are both crucial for problem solving, high achievement and reasoning on a daily basis. The first hypothesis states that intelligence and creativity have a positive relationship, where intelligence predicts creativity, according to the “necessary but not sufficient” hypothesis. The second hypothesis states that the influence of teachers operates as a moderator in this relationship, thus strengthening the connection between intelligence and creativity. According to the idea that the social context is important in the development of intelligence and creativity and that this development commences early in childhood, teachers are seen as influential in this development. Intelligence is measured through the Nederlandse Intelligentietest voor Onderwijsniveau (NIO). Creativity is measured through the Creative Problem Solving task (CPS) and the Test of Creative Thinking and Drawing Production (TCT-DP). Teachers’ opinions is measured through a questionnaire. Results show that intelligence does significantly predict creativity, but that teachers have little to no influence on this connection and therefore do not operate as a moderator. Further research is needed to investigate the influence of teachers more comprehensive, expand the use of intelligence tests, examine the effects of a longitudinal instead of a cross-sectional study design, and look into the possible influence of parents, age and gender on the development of intelligence and creativity.Show less
Numerous studies have been directed to the interaction between intelligence and (mathematical) creativity. However, there is no consistency in the results of these studies they are mostly based on...Show moreNumerous studies have been directed to the interaction between intelligence and (mathematical) creativity. However, there is no consistency in the results of these studies they are mostly based on adolescents and/or adults. This study aims to understand the relationship between intelligence and mathematical creativity by examining these constructs among primary school children in the age of 8 to 12. The sample was collected in The Netherlands among nine primary schools and consists of 334 students. A verbal intelligence subtask was conducted to determine the verbal intelligence level of students in either low, average or high. A mathematical divergent thinking task was conducted to determine the mathematical creativity score of students, the score is based on the creativity components fluency, flexibility and originality. The results indicate a positive relationship between intelligence and mathematical creativity. Students with the highest intelligence scores also have the highest mathematical creativity scores. Accordingly, students with average or low intelligence scores have a significantly lower level of mathematical creativity than students with high intelligence scores. No support was obtained for the hypothesis that the relationship between originality and intelligence would be stronger than the relationship between intelligence and fluency and flexibility. These results are discussed in light of domain-specificity, executive functions, uncontrolled variables and reliability.Numerous studies have been directed to the interaction between intelligence and (mathematical) creativity. However, there is no consistency in the results of these studies they are mostly based on adolescents and/or adults. This study aims to understand the relationship between intelligence and mathematical creativity by examining these constructs among primary school children in the age of 8 to 12. The sample was collected in The Netherlands among nine primary schools and consists of 334 students. A verbal intelligence subtask was conducted to determine the verbal intelligence level of students in either low, average or high. A mathematical divergent thinking task was conducted to determine the mathematical creativity score of students, the score is based on the creativity components fluency, flexibility and originality. The results indicate a positive relationship between intelligence and mathematical creativity. Students with the highest intelligence scores also have the highest mathematical creativity scores. Accordingly, students with average or low intelligence scores have a significantly lower level of mathematical creativity than students with high intelligence scores. No support was obtained for the hypothesis that the relationship between originality and intelligence would be stronger than the relationship between intelligence and fluency and flexibility. These results are discussed in light of domain-specificity, executive functions, uncontrolled variables and reliability.Show less
This paper investigated whether student behavior and gender influence teachers’ overestimations of students’ mathematical ability. The sample consisted of 301 Dutch primary school students between...Show moreThis paper investigated whether student behavior and gender influence teachers’ overestimations of students’ mathematical ability. The sample consisted of 301 Dutch primary school students between the ages of 7 and 13. Student behavior and teachers’ assessment of students’ mathematical ability were measured by a questionnaire answered by the teachers. Mathematical ability was measured by a combined percentile score of three mathematical ability tests. Contrary to previous research it was found that girls’ mathematical abilities are overestimated less than boys’ mathematical abilities. While student behavior was related to the probability of being overestimated, it was not related to the magnitude of overestimation. However, there was a moderation effect of gender resulting in positive behavior and magnitude of overestimation negatively correlating for girls but not for boys. These findings suggest systematical teacher bias in estimating students’ mathematical abilities. Further research should focus on understanding teacher bias, testing the effects of alternatives to numerical grading, and identifying effective ways of assessing students’ ability when needed.Show less
In contemporary society, creativity is an important ability and personality characteristic, and yet there are uncertainties about its development. Particularly Torrance’s (1968) fourth-grade slump...Show moreIn contemporary society, creativity is an important ability and personality characteristic, and yet there are uncertainties about its development. Particularly Torrance’s (1968) fourth-grade slump is controversial. The current study investigated how Dutch primary school children from grade three to five differ in their performance on creative ability tests. It has been assumed that children will display a decrease in creative abilities in the fourth grade of elementary school. Furthermore, this study investigated whether this decrease in creative abilities is domain-specific or domain general. The final sample comprised 360 Dutch elementary school children between age 7 to 12 years. Out of this sample 336, 353, and 346 children completed three different creativity tests. The tests were completed on two days. Each testing session comprised one hour. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to assess the differences in creative performance among the children. Results indicated significant differences on Fluency, Flexibility and Originality for creative problem-solving, as well as significant differences for Fluency for mathematical problem-solving. Performance differences are most evident between grade three and five. However, no evidence for a generalizable fourth-grade slump was found. These insights will be discussed in the light of the Amusement Park Theory, and implications for the educational curriculum and future creativity research are discussed.Show less
In this study, it was examined whether both intelligence and creativity significantly predict giftedness in students aged seven to thirteen years. More specifically, we investigated whether...Show moreIn this study, it was examined whether both intelligence and creativity significantly predict giftedness in students aged seven to thirteen years. More specifically, we investigated whether giftedness can be predicted by spatial as well as verbal intelligence, creative problem-solving and mathematical creativity. Results from previous research have indicated that these factors are interrelated, especially spatial intelligence and mathematical creativity. Four hypotheses were described, based on an extensive and diverse body of literature. The current used sample consisted of 310 participants, of which 36 children were gifted. After conducting forty logistic regression analyses, we concluded that, overall, only spatial intelligence was a significant predictor of giftedness, having significant p-values in 80% of the analyses for specifically this predictor. The other three variables were not found to significantly predict giftedness, as they were significant predictors in only 20%, 30% or none of the analyses. These findings highlight the need to differentiate between subtypes of giftedness. Therefore, the present conclusions are of significant importance for the improvement and broadening of gifted assessment instruments, scientifical developments with reference to the concept, theories and definition of giftedness and specialized educational programs in both primary and secondary school for gifted students. Optimizing educational programs for gifted students provide them with more opportunities to optimize their learning experience and to flourish at school. Future research on subtypes of giftedness will enable more confident conclusions about the importance of creativity in the concept of giftedness, hence contributing to improvements of giftedness assessments and policies for gifted education.Show less
Mathematics is the least promoted domain concerning creativity in primary school. Considering the benefits it has when correctly implemented, more research on the nature of the processes that...Show moreMathematics is the least promoted domain concerning creativity in primary school. Considering the benefits it has when correctly implemented, more research on the nature of the processes that underlie mathematical creativity in children is needed. This study has attempted to examine the contribution that the executive functions of updating, inhibition and shifting make on fluency, originality and flexibility concerning mathematical creativity in primary school children. The sample consisted of 305 participants between eight and thirteen years. Through multiple regression analyses, it was found that updating played a major role in all three creativity components. Inhibition only predicted fluency and shifting did not predict any components. This is the first study to show the disproportionate contribution of children’s executive functions on mathematical creativity. Future research should take this into account when trying to promote mathematical creativity in the classroom.Show less
The aim of the present study was to explore whether there is an association between inhibitory control and mathematical creativity or its subcomponents of flexibility, fluency and originality,...Show moreThe aim of the present study was to explore whether there is an association between inhibitory control and mathematical creativity or its subcomponents of flexibility, fluency and originality, hypothesizing that a positive association between the set of variables exists. Additionally, it aimed to determine if gender has a moderating effect on such associations, hypothesizing that gender does act as a moderating variable. The goal of the research was to better understand creativity so that educators and parents can be informed about strategies on how to better foster creativity in children and what the benefits of doing so are. 341 Dutch primary school children (Mage = 9.67) participated in the study, completing a test battery containing different tasks aimed to measure executive functioning, mathematical ability, creativity and intelligence. A correlation matrix and moderation analyses were used to explore the associations between all variables and gender as a moderator. Results showed that only the subcomponent of fluency was significantly correlated with inhibitory control and that gender was not a significant moderator. However, considering the limitations of the methods used to measure inhibition and creativity, future research requires to look beyond just measures of divergent mathematical creativity and to possibly investigate the directionality of the relationship to provide more concrete evidence to help facilitate cognitive and creative abilities in children.Show less
The current study researched whether mathematical learning difficulties (MLD) affects mathematical creativity (MC) in children from grade 3 to grade 5 aged 7 to 12 years old. Earlier research has...Show moreThe current study researched whether mathematical learning difficulties (MLD) affects mathematical creativity (MC) in children from grade 3 to grade 5 aged 7 to 12 years old. Earlier research has shown that important predictors of mathematical ability (MA) were found to be number sense, creativity and working memory. Other studies found that students with creative talent turned out to have more cognitive resources than academically gifted mathematics students. In the current study it was hypothesized that the mean composite score of MC is lower in the MLD group compared to the TD group. MC was measured by three components: originality, flexibility and fluency. Also, it was hypothesized that the scores for fluency, flexibility and originality are lower in the MLD group compared to the typically developing (TD) group. A distinction was made between children with MLD, which included 35 participants, and typically developing (TD) children, including 318 participants. An ANOVA was performed. The results showed that the mean composite score of MC was lower for the MLD group compared to the TD group. For the three components, the MLD group scored lower on all components indicating that having MLD has a negative relation with MC. The study is of importance to support children with MLD by providing more multiple solution tasks in the classroom. This teaches them how to be mathematically creative and in turn supports their MA. More research is still necessary to research the specific direction of the relation and other possible factors influencing the relation.Show less
