Abstract
While developing and nurturing creativity is increasingly a centerpiece of economic, cultural and arts policies, notions of what creativity is in an educational sense remain problematic to both policymakers and to the educators who seek to define, measure, and nurture it in their environments. In this chapter we use current research on creativity in education to highlight the ways performance and drama education currently approach the teaching and learning of creativity. We consider a recent relational ‘pop up poetry’ performance that embodies a kind of ‘one-to-one’ applied theatre that draws everyday audience members into relationship with the public poet, and in so doing creates a ‘politics of encounter’ which offers creative, pedagogical and political opportunities for social change. Such methods ask us to reconsider our ideas about the role of creativity in education contexts by claiming public space as a classroom and using performance encounters as creative rehearsal for social change. The ‘intimate publics’ created in such performances engage participants in a person-to-person encounter marked by collaborative learning and creative activism and citizenship.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aggelakos, C. (2007). The cross-thematic approach and the ‘new’ curricula of Greek compulsory education: Review of an incompatible relationship. Policy Futures in Education, 5(4), 460–467.
Alter, A. (2017, April 21). American poets, refusing to go gentle, rage against the right. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/books/review/american-poets-refusing-to-go-gentle-rageagainst-the-right.html
Amabile, T. M. (1982, November). The social psychology of creativity: A consensual assessment technique. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43(5), 997–1013.
Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context: Update to the social psychology of creativity. Boulder: Westview Press.
Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Bean, R. (1992). Individuality, self-expression & other keys to creativity: Using the 4 conditions of self-esteem in elementary and middle schools. Santa Cruz: ETR Associates.
Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2007). Toward a broader conception of creativity: A case for “mini-c” creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1(2), 73–79.
Besley, T., & Peters, M. A. (2013). The creative university. In T. Besley & M. A. Peters (Eds.), Re-imagining the creative university for the 21st century, creative education book series (pp. 1–7). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Blumenfeld-Jones, D. S. (2016). Teacher education for the 21st century: Creativity, aesthetics and ethics in preparing teachers for our future. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.
Burnard, P. (2011). Creativity, pedagogic partnerships, and the improvisatory space of teaching. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), Structure and improvisation in creative teaching (pp. 51–72). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cachia, R., & Ferrari, A. (2010). Creativity in schools: A survey of teachers in Europe. Seville: European Commission – Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies.
Cannatella, H. (2004). Embedding creativity in teaching and learning. The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 38(4), 59–70.
Chang, C. C. (2014). An IPA-embedded model for evaluating creativity curricula. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 51(1), 59–71.
Council of the European Union. (2009). Council conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020), Official Journal of the European Union, C 119 of 28.5.2009, 2009. Retrieved from http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52009XG0528%2801%29: EN:NOT.
Craft, A. (2002). Creativity and early years education: A lifewide foundation. London: Continuum.
Craft, A. (2015). Possibility thinking: From what it is to what it might be. In R. Wegerif, L. Li, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of research on teaching thinking (pp. 153–167). London: Routledge.
Craft, A., Cremin, T., Burnard, P., Dragovic, T., & Chappell, K. (2013). Possibility thinking: Culminative studies of an evidence-based concept driving creativity? Education 3–13, 41(5), 538–556. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2012.656671.
Creative Partnerships UK. (2012). Creative culture & education. Accessed: https://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/research/
Creative Scotland. (2013). What is creativity? Scotland’s creative learning plan 2013. Resource document. http://www.creativescotland.com/_data/assets/pdf_file/0019/21394/Scotlands-Creative-Learning-Plan-2013-vd4.pdf
Cropley, A. J. (1992). More ways than one: Fostering creativity. Norwood: Ablex.
Cropley, A. J. (1997). Fostering creativity in the classroom: General principles. In M. A. Runco (Ed.), The creativity research handbook (pp. 83–114). Cresskill: Hampton Press.
Diakidoy, I. A. N., & Kanari, E. (1999). Student teachers’ beliefs about creativity. British Educational Research Journal, 25(2), 225–243.
European Commission. (2010). Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries (Green Paper). European Commission: Brussels. Resource document. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52010DC0183. Accessed 30 Mar 2017.
European Parliament and the Council. (2006). Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning. Official Journal of the European Union, 2006/962/EC. Resource document. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:394:0010:0018:en:PDF
Ewing, R., & Gibson, R. (2015). Creative teaching or teaching creatively? Using creative arts strategies in preservice teacher education. Waikato Journal of Education, 20, 77–91. https://doi.org/10.15663/wje.v20i3.225.
Gallace, R., & Spence, C. (2014). In touch with the future. Oxford: Berg Publishers.
Gallagher, K. (2007). Theatre of urban: Youth and schooling in dangerous times. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Gallagher, K., Starkman, R., & Rhoades, R. (2017). Performing counter-narratives and mining creative resilience: Using applied theatre to theorize notions of youth resilience. Journal of Youth Studies, 20(2), 216–233.
Garber, M. (2016, Nov 10). Still, poetry will rise. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/11/still-poetry-will-rise/507266/
Gardner, H. (1988). Creativity: An interdisciplinary perspective. Creativity Research Journal, 1(1), 8–26.
Garner, R. (2007, October 31). Schools ‘must do more for creativity’. The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/schools-must-do-more-to-promote-creativity-5328882.html
Glăveanu, V. P. (2014). Distributed creativity: Thinking outside the box of the creative individual. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Hall, E. T. (1966). The hidden dimension. Garden City: Anchor Books.
Hallam, E., & Ingold, T. (2007). Creativity and cultural improvisation. Oxford: Berg Publishers.
Harris, A. (2014). The creative turn: Toward a new aesthetic imaginary. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Harris, A. (2015a). Twice upon a place. Applied Theatre Researcher, 3(1), 5–19.
Harris, A. (2015b, August 19). Art, activism and our creative future. The conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/art-activism-and-our-creative-future-46185
Harris, A. (2016a). Creativity and education. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Harris, A. (2016b). Why creativity sucks so bad. NJ: The Journal of Drama Australia, 39(2), 147–152.
Harris, A. (2016c). Creativity, religion and youth cultures. New York: Routledge.
Harris, A. (2017). Creative ecologies: Fostering creativity in secondary schools final report. Resource document. Creative Research Hub. https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/94d25a_734b4a6ddf3749fa86267e7f488fda03.docx?dn=Creative%20Ecologies_Final%20Rpt2017.docx
Harris, A., & Ammerman, M. (2016). The changing face of creativity in Australian education. Teaching Education, 27(1), 103–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2015.1077379.
Harris, A., & Holman Jones, S. (2014). The ethics, aesthetics, and politics of creativity in research. Departures in Critical Qualitative Research, 3(3), 186–195.
Harris, A., & Holman Jones, S. (2016). Writing for performance. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Harris, A., & Sinclair, C. (2014). Critical plays: Embodied research for social change. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Heathcote, D., & Bolton, G. (1994). Drama for learning: Dorothy Heathcote's mantle of the expert approach to education. Dimensions of drama series. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Heilmann, G., & Korte, W. B. (2010). The role of creativity and innovation in school curricula in the EU27: A content analysis of curricula documents. Resource document. Seville: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies. http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC61106_TN.pdf
Hickey-Moody, A. (2014). Little public spheres. In J. Burdick, J. Sandlin, & M. P. O’Malley (Eds.), Problematizing public pedagogy (pp. 117–129). New York: Routledge.
Hill, L., & Paris, H. (2014). Performing proximity: Curious intimacies. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hunter, M. A. (2016). Drama education and its necessary disruptions. NJ: Drama Australia Journal, 40(2), 141–145.
Leong, S. (2010). Creativity and assessment in Chinese arts education: Perspectives of Hong Kong students. Research Studies in Music Education, 32(1), 75–92.
Machon, J. (2009). (Syn)aesthetics: Redefining visceral performance. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
MCEECDYA (Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs). (2008). Resource document. Education council secretariat. In The Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. http://scseec.edu.au/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/documents/Reports%20and%20publications/Publications/National%20goals%20for%20schooling/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf.
Nicholson, H. (2009). Theatre and education. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Nicholson, H. (2015). Applied drama: The gift of theatre (2nd ed.). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Paris, H. (Forthcoming). Performing encounters. In S. Holman Jones (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of performance studies. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell.
Sinclair, C., & Harris, A. (2016). Critical plays: An exploration in truth and verisimilitude. In G. Belliveau & G. Lea (Eds.), Research-based theatre: An artistic methodology (pp. 59–74). Chicago: Intellect.
Torrance, E. P. (1975). Creativity research in education: Still alive. In I. A. Taylor & J. W. Getzels (Eds.), Perspectives in creativity (pp. 278–296). Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company.
Torrance, E. P. (1992). A national climate for creativity and invention. Gifted Child Today Magazine, 15(1), 10–14.
Von Eschenbach, J. F., & Noland, R. G. (1981). Changes in student teachers’ perceptions of the creative pupil. Creative Child & Adult Quarterly, 6(3), 169–177.
Walsh, C., Chappell, K., & Craft, A. (2017). A co-creativity theoretical framework to foster and evaluate the presence of wise humanising creativity in virtual learning environments (VLEs). Thinking Skills and Creativity, 24, 228–241.
Wallach, M. A., & Kogan, N. (1965). Modes of thinking in young children: A study of the creativity-intelligence distinction. New York: Holt, Reinhart & Winston.
Wang, A. Y. (2011). Contexts of creative thinking: A comparison on creative performance of student teachers in Taiwan and the United States. Journal of International and Cross-Cultural Studies, 2(1), 1–14.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Harris, A., Holman Jones, S. (2018). Creativity, Intimate Publics and the Proxemics of Pop Up Poetry Performance. In: Burgoyne, S. (eds) Creativity in Theatre. Creativity Theory and Action in Education, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78928-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78928-6_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-78927-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-78928-6
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)