Doyeon Chae , Junghyun Min , Yewon Cho , Chaeyoung Lee , Yunhee Kim
DOI: Vol.29(No.1) 83-104, 2023
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to explore preschool teachers’ perceptions of early childhood creativity using the metaphorical analysis method, to understand the self-reported performance of these teachers in teaching creativity and the metaphorical image they associate with children’s creativity. We employed the Teaching Performance Scale for Enhancing Creativity in Young Children, developed by Moon (1995), along with an open-ended questionnaire to collect teachers’ metaphors regarding children’s creativity. A total of 211 preschool teachers from across the country participated in the online survey. After analyzing the metaphors for children’s creativity, initially, 21 categories were identified. These categories were then further consolidated into four main themes: ‘divergent thinking,’ ‘malleability’ ‘diverse characteristics,’ and ‘needs for investment.’ The metaphors related to ‘fluency’ and ‘originality’ were prevalent across the high-performing, middle-performing, and low-performing groups. However, there was a difference in the third-most-used metaphors among the different groups. Based on the key findings, the implications for the direction of early childhood creativity education were discussed.
Key Words
creativity, metaphors, teaching performance