Commentary: Toward Convergence in Creativity Inquiry

Abstract

This commentary is about reflection in the new language of creativity and the meanings of inquiry into creative life. The authors of the commentary adopt the cultural paradigm of psychology of creativity. They praise effortful creativity of the authors who submitted the articles to this special issue. Their studies employed diverse methods of inquiry into how creativity unfolds in flourishing environments. The authors of this commentary share their experiences in nurturing creativity in the context of educating people with special needs. They conclude preliminary that inclusive education shall focus on resolving incongruence in cultural development and on accepting different creativity developmental styles.Keywords: defectology, inquiry, disability, creativity.This commentary records our praise for effortful creativity and convergence in creative insights transmitted through the four articles of this special issue (Gl aveanu, 2015;Hennessey, 2015;Karwowski, 2015;Tanggaard, 2015). The authors adopted diverse theoretical and research orientations evidently showing us that creativity as a life phenomenon (see also Kaufman, 2015) is both personal and socio-cultural (see also Hui, 2015). Their creative voices alerted us that to have profound understanding of creativity as the life generating force, we shall continue making creative inquiries into life. Inspired by the collective effort of the authors of this special issue in advancing knowledge of psychology of creativity from the theoretical and research perspectives, we share our perceived practical challenges in nurturing creativity. Specifically, we relate this commentary to our inquiry into developing capacity of all in an inclusive society.

Connecting Theory, Research, and Practice in the Psychology of Creativity: An Introduction to a Special Issue

“…Tan and Wong () agreed with the claim that this special issue is evidence of fruition of convergent (inter)action of creativity‐passionate researchers. The contributors of the special issue have embraced any creative synthesis of comprehensive inquiries and research orientations (see e.g., Karwowski, ; Tanggaard, ).…”

“…An image of a promising future emerges from the connecting dots within the space of understanding human creativity. The phrases: Creativity is life (see Kaufman, ), creative insights (Hui, ), and convergence in creativity (Tan & Wong, ), seem to resonate with my creative imagination. The presence of positive feelings projects a hopeful future in making inquiry into human creativity across cultures (Hennessey, ) and in varying situations in life (Glaveanu, ; Karwowski, ; Tanggaard, ).…”

“…Near a dozen of reviewers across continents provided their insightful feedback and constructive comments. The release of the articles was ready with additional contributions of Hui (), Kaufman (), as well as Tan and Wong () in the form of reflective commentaries.…”