Microsoft Word lilly creativity (early childhood) done docx

RESEARCH: 
Creative Potential
According to Vygotsky, every human being is equipped with a potential for creativity (Ormrod, 

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2009). Children can be creative on a small personal scale relevant to their environment defined 
as “little c” while the potential for “big C” (i.e., creativity on a grand scale) later in their 
development can be fostered and enhanced through the collaboration of parents and educators. 
Some theorists believe expertise is a precursor to creativity, yet experience has also been known 
to inhibit creativity when associated with inflexibility. Children’s lack of expertise allows them 
to perform creatively without being constrained to conventions and norms however at the same 
time it may keep them from making original assumptions. Those attributed with creative minds 
such as Piaget, Freud, and Darwin moved from studying one field to another bringing new 
perspectives and avoiding assumptions. In the same way, children do not have the experience to 
develop the same assumptions thus avoiding routines, making it easier for them to reach original 
ideas. One study found age to be crucial to the creative process because it affects children's’ 
cognitive, motor and social development. For example, in order to estimate motor-creativity 
through the evaluation of divergent movement ability in preschool and elementary school 
children, older children display a higher level of motor creativity, implying that previous 
knowledge and experience enhances creativity (Zachopoulou & Makri, 2005). And although 
young children are often creative relative to themselves, in order to promote general creativity a 
greater knowledge base is required (Sternberg, 2003). Therefore, until children receive the basic 
skills training needed to create something truly novel and display “big C” then creativity research 
should emphasize promoting the creative process rather than the product in this developmental 
period.