期刊名称：International Journal of Environmental and Science Education
电子版ISSN：1306-3065
出版年度：2012
卷号：7
期号：2
页码：269-290
出版社：IJESE
摘要：Creative thinking in Environmental Education (EE) remains greatly under researched topic. Research on teachers’ conceptions of creative thinking within EE context is also limited, although their role in facilitating creative thinking in students is well documented. The small-scale qualitative study presented here investigates Greek secondary teach-ers’ conceptions of creative thinking in EE. Empirical data were collected based on non-structured interviews with 20 secondary teachers with diverse backgrounds and subject ex-pertise. Among the findings of the study is that participants view creative thinking as a thinking process that can or should be enhanced within the context of EE. All four key components identified in the literature in definitions of creativity – process, person, prod-uct, and context – are present in participants’ conceptualizations, with the most prevalent being that of process. Teachers conceptualize creative thinking as an inherent component of environmental problem-solving; they claim that EE pedagogy offers a favourable environ-ment within which it can be nurtured; and they attribute ethical dimensions to it by pairing creativity with social and ecological responsibility. The participants’ frames of thinking about creativity support the views of scholars who emphasize the links between EE and creative thinking and connections with broader theoretical approaches that currently domi-nate research on creativity. The study provides a starting point for further research on creative thinking within the context of EE.
