Personal and environmental factors affecting teachers’ creativity-fostering practices in Hong Kong

• Investigated 10 teachers’ views on the nature of creativity and the factors that facilitate or impede its development in schools.
• Employed a qualitative research approach using in-depth interviews.
• Personal influences included teachers' personality traits, motivation, attitude, and sense of purpose.
• Environmental influences included characteristics of the school (time, space, classroom atmosphere, pressures from curriculum) and community influences (students and parents).

This small-scale exploratory study with 10 primary school teachers in Hong Kong investigated their views on creativity enhancement and the factors that facilitate or impede its development in schools. In particular, the study focused on teachers who were involved in gifted education and who have had training in creativity and gifted education. The study employed a qualitative research approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Four themes related to personal factors emerged: (a) personality traits; (b) motivation; (c) attitude; and (d) sense of purpose. In addition, there were two themes related to environmental factors: (a) school and (b) community. Implications for schools and for teacher education in the area of creativity are discussed.