Arts education and creativity enhancement in young children in Hong Kong

CITATION

Hui, A., He, M. and Ye, S. (2015) Arts education and creativity enhancement in young children in Hong Kong, Educational Psychology, 35(3), p.315-329

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ABSTRACT
The present study aimed at assessing Hong Kong young children’s gains in
creativity and their teachers’ application of arts education after a one-year
artists-teachers collaborative arts education project that involves various art
forms (i.e. drama, visual arts and integrated). Participants included 790 young
children, 217 parents and 65 teachers in seven kindergartens and nurseries.
Measures included the Test for Creative Thinking–Drawing Production,
Story-Telling Test (STT), the subscales of parent-rated creativity, communication
and motivational characteristics, and the adapted Scale of Application of Arts
in the Classroom. Among the three art forms, children in the visual arts group
demonstrated highest gains in verbal creativity as evaluated by the STT. Based
on parents’ report, there were significant differences in children’s communication
characteristics across the three art forms. Significant differences across art forms
were also found in teachers’ confidence in teaching arts to 3–4 years old and
their perception of arts for arts sake. Both teachers and students take advantage
of the professional and artistic input and guidance of practising artists in arts
appreciation and production. Implications and limitations were discussed.


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