Development of creativity in life-long teacher education

The phenomenon of human creativity is still insufficiently researched from a pedagogical perspective. This particularly applies to teachers’ creativity and its impact on students’ creativity. The aim of this research is to determine the circumstances that foster or hinder teachers’ creativity, both in the process of undergraduate and graduate education and in the process of lifelong learning. The educational process intended for future teachers has a particularly delicate task because, on the one hand, it should encourage the development of their personal creativity, while at the same time serving as an exemplary model in terms of opening up didactic possibilities for the development of students’ creativity. Therefore, an important part of this project will focus on examining possible didactic solutions in the education of future teachers. The process of teachers’ continuing education can be both a factor that hinders teachers’ creativity and one that encourages it. For this reason, this project will be oriented toward this important aspect of supporting the development of teacher professionalism. The project will investigate various possible forms of teachers’ continuing education, placing special emphasis on their initiative, self-organization, collaborative relationships, the development of self-confidence and professional competence, as well as research into the social and emotional climate that fosters or hinders their creativity. We will study the theoretical foundations of human creativity, define the specific features related to teachers’ creativity, identify the characteristics of instruments for monitoring creativity and create new ones, and develop methods and procedures for fostering teachers’ creativity. The results of the project will be applied in teaching students enrolled in teacher education programmes, as well as through activities of continuous professional development for teachers within learning communities. Part of the collaboration among teachers will be carried out through the Moodle system, intended for Internet-mediated learning, or web-based learning. At the theoretical level, the project will make new advances in understanding the phenomenon of human creativity, particularly its role in the contemporary concept of the teaching profession and the role of creativity in the modern didactic design of the educational process.