Exploring the use of the pedagogical framework for creative practice in preschool settings: A phenomenological approach

•A pedagogical framework for creative practices (PFCP) was developed.•Pedagogical practices include motivation, divergent thinking, convergent thinking, experiment, and evaluation.•A phenomenological approach was employed.•Positive effects were evident.•The study should lead to further inquiry on effective creative-practice teaching strategies.

This paper reports the experiences of using a pedagogical framework for creative practices (PFCP) to support preschool teachers in fostering children's creativity in their classrooms. The PFCP includes five pedagogical components: (1) motivation; (2) a divergent process of generating possibilities; (3) a convergent process of selecting ideas; (4) putting ideas into practice; and (5) evaluation. Eighteen teachers from six Hong Kong preschools participated in the study. According to the PFCP, each teacher developed six creative practices and implemented them in their classrooms. Individual semi-structured interviews were used elicit teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the PFCP and the changes of teachers’ teaching pedagogy. The observations used as a source of evidence to illustrate teachers’ actual teaching behaviours and children's creative performance. The results suggest that the PFCP was perceived as being effective in helping teachers improve their lesson planning and pedagogy. Positive effects such as enhancing teachers’ knowledge and skills, infusing creativity into the various learning domains and shifting teaching practices from being strongly teacher centred to being more child centred were documented. This paper discusses the implications and suggests that the PFCP could serve as a starting point for teachers to explore their own creative-practice methods. Finally, the study should lead to further inquiry on effective creative practice teaching strategies.