Many recent studies have confirmed that mindfulness meditation has wide ranging potential to improve the mental health and well-being of adults, though few studies have explored its potential to help younger populations. In the current study, a sample of 4th and 2nd grade students was trained in the techniques of mindfulness meditation. Baseline electroencephalograms (EEGs) were taken before the training, and again after a 10 week period of daily meditation practice. Measures of attention, creativity, affect, depression, behavioral inhibition/activation, emotion regulation, impulsive/aggressive behaviors, and social anxiety were also administered before and after the meditation practice period. Results indicate that mindfulness meditation produces increased relative left-frontal alpha activation, a brain pattern that has been associated with increased positive affect and more adaptive coping responses to aversive events. Significant post-meditation improvements in depression and creativity were also found in the experimental condition. / by Sara Elizabeth Klco. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2009. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Mar. 10, 2010). Thesis advisor: Deborah Ann Wooten. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree: Master in Education Faculty of Education Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / The change in focus of the curriculum policy statements since 1996 have caused many teachers to feel abandoned and helpless in their pursuit of the objectives of the new curriculum. One of the issues that leads to this feeling of abandonment is that of critical thinking. A stated objective of the new curriculum is that learners must be able to engage critically with their environment. However, leading learners to be able to do this seems to be lacking. Classroom practice currently, does not address this adequately and in many cases, the ability and capacity to nurture a critical thinking classroom environment is absent. The teachers who participated in this study recognised that in order for them to be more successful in terms of the curriculum objectives, critical thinking as a core competency had to be developed as a strategic imperative. They also recognised that viewing the child in their class in isolation from their environment is fatally flawed. The child after all is a product of his/her environment. It is for this reason, that this study used the Productive Pedagogies as a basis for the research. This approach was selected because of its comprehensive quality in terms of viewing the development of the child holistically. The ability of the child to connect to his environment is dependent on the capacity of the school as a forum to draw all of the threads together and then to make meaning. The teachers on their own would not be able to do this without the help of their institutions. The development of critical thinking must be recognised at the level of management as a key classroom strategy that must be managed and supported. This would imply that important curriculum discussions and decisions must be based on how the teaching of these skills will be affected. The significance of critical thinking and the weak systemic evaluation results prompted this study to investigate whether the teaching of critical thinking skills is part of everyday classroom practice. The instrument of the Productive Pedagogies for classroom observations was used to obtain quantitative information. Interviews with the educators were also conducted to add to the qualitative data.

Social learning has given us insight into how children learn actions from others across different domains (e.g., actions on objects, pretend play, and tool use). However, little research exists to confirm whether young children can generate their own novel actions. Three different settings were chosen to offer a varied investigation of children’s ability to generate novel actions: generating multiple actions with novel objects; generating iconic gestures in order to communicate; and generating pretend actions using object substitution. Generating multiple actions with novel objects: The Unusual Box test was developed to investigate children’s ability to generate multiple actions with novel objects (Chapter 2). The Unusual Box test involves children playing with a wooden box that contains many different features (e.g., rings, stairs, strings), and five novel objects. The number of different actions performed on the box and with the objects (i.e., fluency) was used as a measure of their individual learning. Positive correlations between the fluency scores of 24 3- and 4-year-olds on the Unusual Box test and two existing measures of divergent thinking were found. Divergent thinking relates to the ability to think of multiple answers based on one premise. Furthermore, a large range of fluency scores indicated individual differences in children’s ability to generate multiple actions with novel objects. In addition, 16 2-year-olds were assessed on the Unusual Box test, twice two weeks apart, to investigate test-retest reliability and the possibility that the Unusual Box test could be used with children younger than 3 years. A strong positive correlation between the scores on the two assessments showed high test-retest reliability, while individual differences in fluency scores and the absence of a floor effect indicated that the Unusual Box test was usable in children from 2 years of age. Generating iconic gestures in order to communicate: Children’s ability to generate iconic gestures in order to communicate was assessed using a game to request stickers from an experimenter (N = 20, Chapter 3). In order to get a sticker children had to communicate to the experimenter which out of two objects they wanted (only one object had a sticker attached to it). Children’s use of speech or pointing was ineffective; therefore only generating an iconic gesture was sufficient to retrieve the sticker. Children generated a correct iconic gesture on 71% of the trials. These findings indicate that children generate their own iconic gestures in order to communicate; and that they understand the representational nature of iconic gestures, and use this in their own generation of iconic gestures. Generating pretend actions using object substitution: In order to determine whether children are able to generate their own object substitution actions and understand the representational nature of these actions, 45 3- and 4-year-olds were familiarized with the goal of a task through modelling actions. Children distinguished between the intentions of an experimenter to pretend, or try and perform a correct action. Children mainly imitated the pretend actions, while correcting the trying actions. Next, children were presented with objects for which they had to generate their own object substitution actions without being shown a model. When children had previously been shown pretend actions, children generated their own object substitution actions. This indicates that children generate their own object substitution actions, and that they understand the representational nature of these actions. An additional study with 34 3-year-olds, revealed no significant correlations between divergent thinking, inhibitory control, or children’s object substitution in a free play setting, and children’s ability to generate object substitution actions in the experimental setting.

This qualitative case study examined the impact of an arts integrated international collaboration on elementary school students’ creativity when the students were communicating and creating exclusively through a technological third space. Two organizations, one in the U.S. and one in Mexico, served as the sites for the case study. Five findings emerged from the study relating to the nature of creativity and two findings related to the impact on students’ creativity when engaged in arts-integrated international collaboration. The findings for the first question were: 1. Students and teaching artists view creativity as a process that is reflexive and engaging, 2. When reflecting on their work, students and teaching artists see creativity as an interplay of ideas and are open to and capable of modifying their ideas to achieve creative results, 3. Creative work is relative to the individual and is directly correlated to both originality and effort, 4. Students and teaching artists value creativity as a means for both self-expression and communication, 5. A collaborative environment sets the stage for creative behavior in terms of inviting feedback, providing constructive criticism, and sharing ideas. For the second question relating to impact, the two findings were: 1. Teaching and learning in the third space becomes a recursive process, and 2. Students work in new modes of communication in order to bridge cultures. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study aimed at investigating the influence of locus of control and upbringing style on creative thinking of preparatory school learners in schools in the United Arab Emirates. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following questions: *What is the effect of the family upbringing type (authoritative/authoritarian) on the creative thinking of grade 9 students in schools in the United Arab Emirates? *What is the effect of the type of locus of control (internal/external) on the creative thinking of grade 9 students in schools in the United Arab Emirates? *What is the effect of the interrelationships of family upbringing type and locus of control on the creative thinking of grade 9 students in schools in the United Arab Emirates? Three scales were used in this study: *The Arabized Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale *Fawzi Abu jabal Scale of family upbringing style *Torrance Tests of creative thinking In order to answer the above-mentioned questions, a random sample from students in the ninth grade was selected. The sample consisted of (527) male and female students. In order to examine the questions of the study and to identify the effects of each of these independent variables, along with there interactions on creative thinking; the following statistical techniques were used: *T-tests *Chi-square tests *Pearson's bivariate and multi-variate correlation *Analysis of variance (222) *Stepwise regression analysis The findings of this study showed: *Upbringing style and the locus of control had a significant effect on creative thinking. All differences were in favour of the internal locus of control and the authoritative upbringing style. *Gender had no significant effect on creative thinking. *There were no significant effects for the dual and treble interactions of the independent variables (gender, upbringing style and locus of control) on creative thinking. The results were interpreted in light of a literature review and the students' socialization practices. / Early Childhood Education and Development / D.Ed. (Socio-Education)

The study emphasizes two major issues of development: poverty theories and human development. Human development is understood as a process of expanding human freedoms and potential. Focus is put on the perception of Ethiopians on the promotion of creativity as possible means to foster human development and as a result reduce many dimensions of poverty. The study evaluates the perception of people involved in child development in Ethiopia regarding the promotion of ‘creativity as capability’ as a factor contributing to human development. The conclusions of this study can provide Ethiopian development effort with practical insight on how Ethiopian citizens perceive ‘creativity’ within their culture as potential chance and effective addition to promote human development in Ethiopia. The study identifies several existing as well as absent aspects of creativity within Ethiopian society and presents practical starting points to establish ‘creativity as capability’ on micro-level in Ethiopian communities. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

This study aimed at investigating the influence of locus of control and upbringing style on creative thinking of preparatory school learners in schools in the United Arab Emirates. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following questions: *What is the effect of the family upbringing type (authoritative/authoritarian) on the creative thinking of grade 9 students in schools in the United Arab Emirates? *What is the effect of the type of locus of control (internal/external) on the creative thinking of grade 9 students in schools in the United Arab Emirates? *What is the effect of the interrelationships of family upbringing type and locus of control on the creative thinking of grade 9 students in schools in the United Arab Emirates? Three scales were used in this study: *The Arabized Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale *Fawzi Abu jabal Scale of family upbringing style *Torrance Tests of creative thinking In order to answer the above-mentioned questions, a random sample from students in the ninth grade was selected. The sample consisted of (527) male and female students. In order to examine the questions of the study and to identify the effects of each of these independent variables, along with there interactions on creative thinking; the following statistical techniques were used: *T-tests *Chi-square tests *Pearson's bivariate and multi-variate correlation *Analysis of variance (222) *Stepwise regression analysis The findings of this study showed: *Upbringing style and the locus of control had a significant effect on creative thinking. All differences were in favour of the internal locus of control and the authoritative upbringing style. *Gender had no significant effect on creative thinking. *There were no significant effects for the dual and treble interactions of the independent variables (gender, upbringing style and locus of control) on creative thinking. The results were interpreted in light of a literature review and the students' socialization practices. / Early Childhood Education and Development / D.Ed. (Socio-Education)