Creativity and Critical Thinking: Assessing the Impact of Creativity on Critical Thinking Skills in Childhood
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Author
Bell, Shani
Date
2015
Degree
Master of Arts in Art Therapy
Abstract
The development of critical thinking skills in United States citizens was considered essential to the viability of American society and the country’s global economic, social and political empowerment. However, there are concerns that future leaders of the United States will not possess the evaluative and reasoning skills necessary to remain relevant in these areas. This two-part study included a survey of teachers to assess the perception of critical thinking skills in latency age children and reflective art responses to current literature related to critical thinking and creativity. Exploring creativity as an alternative means to enhance critical thinking may lead to the development of new and effective modalities of improving such skills in children. Results from this limited study indicated that, although there was higher than expected importance placed on creativity and critical thinking by teachers, utilizing creativity may still be effective means to further increase the skill.