Creativity Formation in the Context of Social and Psychological Adaptation of Preschoolers Aged 5-6 Years

Abstract

The aim of the research is to analyze the creativity manifestation in the early stages of ontogenesis; to verify the relationship between creative abilities and social adaptation of preschoolers. The importance of the topic under consideration is determined by the fact that preschoolers’ childhood is the main sensitive period for the formation of creativity as the person’s adaptive re-source. The deficiency of development during this period cannot be compensated later. The examination of the creative abilities of 115 children aged 5-6 years has been conducted. Based on the total result of seven subtests Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, three groups of children have been distinguished. They include children with high (N=20), medium (N=79), and low (N=16) creative potential. Data on behavior have been collected from 142 parents and 24 teachers who supervised children during communication situations. The adaptation of preschoolers have been analyzed on three sides: as a set of individual be-havioral reactions conditioning cooperation with the environment (A questionnaire of children’s temperament Thomas and Chess); as a social competency – skills in communication with children and adults (expert assessments of teachers based on the open structured supervision), and as an emotional adaptation to life situations (the projective technique of anxiety diagnostics “Choose a face”). In all cases, children with high creative potential demonstrated particular differences. The positive reaction of “approaching” in response to new stimuli, a low sensory threshold, and high speed of adaptation to the change of external terms are a typological profile of a “creative” temperament. Related problems of emotional reaction and the increased anxiety of pre-schoolers have been detected. The development of skills for social competence lags significantly in the group with a low level of creativity. The factorial structure of creative abilities, which presents three types of creativity (subject, verbal, and figurative), and three leading abilities (productivity, originality, and fluency) have been suggested. The particular parameters of creativity corre-late in different ways with the adaptability of preschoolers: the readiness is more successful, and originality is associated with disturbances of emotional regulation. In conclusion, creativity is presented as a natural condition for a child’s adaptation.

The Importance of Creative Thought in Young Children

“…A large part of a child's personality is developed during their pre-school educational years. Scholars Laryssa V. Zdanevych, et al's research found that pre-schoolers were most sensitive to creative potential within the development of their personalities (Zdanevych et al, 2020). Children naturally are curious of their surrounding environment, in awe of discoveries, experiment, use their imaginations and daydream (Zdanevych et al, 2020).…”

“…Scholars Laryssa V. Zdanevych, et al's research found that pre-schoolers were most sensitive to creative potential within the development of their personalities (Zdanevych et al, 2020). Children naturally are curious of their surrounding environment, in awe of discoveries, experiment, use their imaginations and daydream (Zdanevych et al, 2020). Scholars Laryssa V. Zdanevych et al describes a creative personality as being talented with "emotional impertinence and expressed weirdness of behavior."…”

“…Scholars Laryssa V. Zdanevych et al describes a creative personality as being talented with "emotional impertinence and expressed weirdness of behavior." (Zdanevych et al, 2020) Scholars Jacob W. Getzels and Philip W. Jackson noted that their creative children were not particularly liked by their peers or teachers:…”

The Way of Learning Preserved in The Structure of Individual Experience Shapes Task-Switching: Implications for Neuroscience and Education

“…Our comparison of academic performance and switch costs between groups of schoolchildren who acquired two concepts with or without switching showed remote benefit of learning with switching accompanied by greater cognitive effort (to be published after complete data analysis). Therefore, of importance is the "management" of multitasking that would increase the effectiveness of learning using segmentation of individual learning episodes, grouping of tasks by importance, and other tools of reorganization of experience (Stavtseva, 2014), and would possibly mediate the developing creative abilities (see Markina and Vladimirov, 2019;Zdanevych et al, 2020).…”

Development of Creativity for Children Age 6-7

“…Radošuma attīstību būtu jāiekļauj pirmskolas izglītības iestāžu programmās, lai šīs prasmes tiktu attīstītas jau agrīnā vecumā. (Zdanevych, et al, 2020).…”