Sammanfattning Forskning visar att det finns ett samband mellan kreativitet och lärande och att det har betydelse för elevers måluppfyllelse. Undersökningens syfte var att undersöka hur kreativitet yttrar sig i undervisningen, om rätt förutsättningar finns samt hur lärare förstår innebörden av kreativa processer. Utöver detta var syftet att undersöka om lärarna anser att kreativitet i undervisningen gynnar elevers måluppfyllelse. Enkätundersökningen genomfördes i en mindre kommun i mellansverige och är en totalundersökning. En majoritet av respondenterna anser att den viktigste aspekten för att skapa kreativitet är att skapa nyfikenhet. Resultaten visar också att de strukturer som finns i en skola har betydelse för om lärarna kan planera för kreativitet i sin undervisning. Respondenterna har angivit lokalernas storlek, scheman, tid och klassens storlek som hämmande för kreativitet i sin undervisning. Merparten av respondenterna i undersökningen anser sig dock ha ganska bra kunskaper om kreativa processer. Undersökningens resultat har betydese för hur man ska tänka när man planerar för en ny skola, hur en skolas organisation bör se ut samt även hur undervisningen bör planeras och genomföras. Den har även betydelse för vilken kompetens som lärare bör ha för att ha möjlighet att undervisa kreativt. / Abstract Research shows that there is a connection between creativity and learning, and therefore creativity aim of this study was to investigate how creativity is shown in teaching, if there are the correct circumstances for creativity and how teachers understand creative processes. Another aim was to find out if teachers belive that creativity in school can support pupils´ achievements. The survey was conducted in a small municipality in central Sweden and is a census survey. A majority of the respondents answered that the most important aspect for creativity is to make the pupils curious. The results also show that the structures in a school affect to what extent teachers can plan for creativity in their teaching. The largest part of the respondents have answered that the size of the premises, schedules, time, and class size that discourages creativity in their teaching. Most of the teachers said that they are aware of the importance of creativity for learning and achievments. The result of this study is importand for how to think when planning a new school, for how a school ought to be organized and how teaching has to be planned and carried out. The result is also essential to learn what sort of knowledge teachers need to be able to work in creativity way.

There is a growing call for more skilled workers-especially in the scarce skills of science, engineering and technology (SET). The current educational system is failing to address these issues, learners are being ill-prepared to cope with the demands of a society that has moved on; and learners are being prepared for a society that no longer exists in practice. In order to address this problem, this thesis calls for a greater emphasis on issues of digital inclusion, integration of whole communities, understanding of the dynamics of integrating ICTs into the classroom, exploring opportunities for the expansion of rapid-prototyping at school level and the promotion of digital literacy. Though this is not a definitive list, the researcher has developed working solutions to each of these issues, as presented in five journal articles. Investigations were conducted in the Tshwane area with male and female learners in both primary and secondary schools. The selection of the learners from both advantaged and disadvantaged institutions was left to the teachers. Design research was the main methodology adopted for this research. The investigations started in 200'1 and the bulk of the work was concluded between 2007-2010. Greater emphasis is placed on a qualitative approach with limited quantitative analysis. The findings of this research indicate the need to extend the scope of the investigation and to massify the different interventions. The pedagogical shift has been away from information transfer, towards using information communication technologies to promote creativity and innovation in a stimulating constructivist environment This has led to an opportunity to track learner involvement in SET events over their school careers and to identify talented individuals. In addition, the findings indicate that there is little difference between learners from advantaged and disadvantaged communities. Added to this is the development of a solution to address the digital divide through the creation of virtual interactive classrooms which can digitally include learners from geographically separated classrooms in remote communities. The strategic importance of ICTs, creativity and innovation are key components of a Human Capital Development strategy, especially at a time when there is a growing shortage of scarce skills in key areas. Post Grade 12 interventions are short term solutions that are not sustainable. This thesis calls for the establishment of a SET pipeline from grassroots level, in order to grow the feeder stock for a national system of innovation as a long-term investment in the future. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The aim of this research was to determine the role of the school principal in fostering the creativity and innovativeness of educators. This aim was explored by: determining the nature of creativity and innovativeness; determining the role of the principal in fostering the creativity and innovativeness of educators at schools; and investigating how the creativity and innovativeness of educators is currently fostered at schools. The literature survey on the nature of creativity and innovativeness revealed creativity as the generation of novel and useful ideas and the ability to combine them in a unique way, while innovativeness is the ability to be innovative, i.e. to implement creative outcomes to benefit an organisation or the practical application of ideas towards the organisation's objectives. Creativity and innovativeness can thus be fostered by creating a stimulating work environment that advocates enriched jobs and supporting management practices, an organisational culture that supports innovativeness and an environment that provides adequate resources. Therefore, creativity and innovativeness are a function of an organisational climate that promotes nine dimensions, namely, challenge and involvement, freedom, trust and openness, idea time, idea support, debate, risk-taking, conflict management and humour and playfulness. The empirical survey found that school-organisational climates generally foster educators' creativity and innovativeness in terms of the dimension thereof.-How it was found that some dimensions enjoy more prevalence at schools than others. It was also found that some aspects of these dimensions were inconsistent with the general finding that schools portray climates conducive to educators' creativity and innovativeness. For instance, the involvement of educators in vision review as a way of setting standards or as a pace-setter for performance, and educators having to seek permission before implementing their creative ideas were seen as not fostering creativity and innovativeness at schools. Although there were statistical differences in responses between principals and educators on all creativity and innovativeness dimensions, it was found that these were of no practical significance and thus could be attributed to chance or coincidence. This study therefore recommends that principals should adopt a holistic approach to school organisational creativity and innovativeness. In this way, all the dimensions will be fostered, thus creating school organizational climates that engender the creativity and innovativeness of all educators and focusing on all aspects of their work. Principals should also receive capacity building exercises, initiated both at school and at departmental levels. These exercises should focus on staff development that relates creativity and innovativeness to the achievement of teaching and learning outcomes. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Many organisations use strategic management as an imperative to gain competitive advantages. Theorists have not been able to ascertain whether prescriptive or emergent strategic approaches will be most suitable within an organisational climate for sustaining these competitive advantages. The notion of creativity has been identified as a source of competitive advantage that organisations may make use of within their strategic frameworks. However, within the organisational climate, there may be various barriers to creativity that will impede performance outcomes, efficiency and potential competitive advantage for an organisation. The study concerns itself m d y with an investigation into the strategic and organisational climates within selected higher education institutions in South Africa, as these institutions are in need of an assessment regarding potential sources of competitive advantage, in order to survive. The imperative to remain competitive is primarily due to the turbulent and changeable environments that these institutions find themselves in. This instability has occurred as a result of various changes in higher education due to the merging of several higher education institutions and the changes in the configuration of others. The study has shown that creativity is a source of competitive advantage. This was done by determining which barriers to creativity were present within the organisational climates of the selected institutions, as well as which strategic management approaches were being employed by the said institutions. The information obtained from the data gathered was compared to two competitive advantage measures (throughput and research output rates) of those higher education institutions. Three pivotal questions were asked and answered by the study in this regard. What are the prevalent prescriptive strategy dimensions and processes being employed by selected South African public higher education institutions? What are the prevalent creativity barrier dimensions that exist with selected public higher education institutions in South Africa? What relationships can be observed between the prescriptive strategy dimensions, the creativity barrier dimensions and the organisational competitive advantage performance output dimensions of throughput rate and research output in selected public South African higher education institutions? Non probability, judgment sample was obtained from four selected higher education institutions located in the Gauteng province in South Africa during the latter half of 2004. The survey requested certain biographical information on respondents (who had to fulfill the criteria of being full-time academic employees working for the institution in question), information on the strategic climate and barriers to creativity with the organisational climate. The last section of the questionnaire contained open-ended questions. Data on the throughput and research output rates of the institutions was obtained separately from the South African Department of Education (DOE), and correlated against the data obtained from the questionnaire. The questionnaire was testing for eight pre-determined creativity factors within the organisational climate (identified from the literature review and previous studies), and a separate dimension of prescriptive strategic planning. Overall only five of the creativity barriers were found to be most predominant within the selected higher education institutions, namely: Insufficient Resources; Lack of Team Unity; Lack of Organisational Support; Organisational Hindrances and Workload pressure. The factors were compared to the measures of competitive advantage and it was determined that there was a positive correlation between a higher prevalence of barriers and a lower performance output, which indicated that creativity could be identified as a source of competitive advantage within those institutions. This lent evidence to support the initial, first hypothesis of the study. Furthermore, it was discovered that those institutions that were utilising prescriptive strategic management approaches were more inched to achieve higher performance in terms of their throughput rates. Refuted the second hypothesis of the study that was advocating that emergent strategy was more likely to result in competitive advantage. More education institutions, known for their typically bureaucratic approaches might be more able to utilise formal procedures to obtain increased competitive advantage than utilising a more informal, emergent approach, as academic employees might more freely be able to explore creative alternatives under the security of prescriptive strategic approaches. It is likely that any organisation would wish to improve their competitive performance in order to be more effective. Higher education institutions also need to be concerned about their performance in order to continue operating effectively. It is necessary, then for those higher education institutions, to take note of these potential barriers to creativity with their organisational climates, which were highlighted by the study and to proactively remove them to ensure they remain competitive into the future. In addition, these institutions should consider which strategic management approaches they are currently utilising and streamline them to cement the competitive advantage. It was advocated that South African higher education institutions should be adopting formalised strategic management approaches in this regard. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

This thesis presents an Advanced Placement curriculum for the concentration section of the Drawing Portfolio. It is intended as a teaching tool to encourage and develop creative strategies related to idea generation and refinement based on creative problem solving, which is essential to the development of an effective concentration. One of the most difficult problems faced by Advanced Placement Studio Art students is idea generation for the artwork related to a central topic for the concentration section of their portfolios. This curriculum introduces lessons based on artist research, brainstorming, synectics, and SCAMPER techniques designed to foster creative idea generation for artwork development. It also gives students a tool with which to analyze the ideas generated based on specific criteria necessary to the concentration. This curriculum specifically encourages the creative process in students and provides teachers with a foundation with which to begin a unique and highly personal journey by the individual student.

This thesis presents a study on how fourth graders can learn and use metaphor to create meaningful and expressive artworks. It is intended to investigate how students can understand the idea of metaphor and how they can use it to illustrate their own thoughts and ideas within their artworks. Jean Piaget believes much abstract thinking does not occur until the Formal Operations Stage of eleven to thirteen years of age. This study sought to question the ideas of Piaget by introducing the abstract thought of metaphor to fourth graders who are at the approximate age of nine. It set out to demonstrate that students may understand the idea of metaphor while applying it to create meaningful artworks that demonstrate their own opinions, thoughts and beliefs. Concepts about metaphor were introduced to the students through a number of interactive lessons to develop their ability to implement metaphor into their own artworks. This unit taught students how to interpret metaphor and apply the use of metaphor to their own artworks.

There is a growing call for more skilled workers-especially in the scarce skills of science, engineering and technology (SET). The current educational system is failing to address these issues, learners are being ill-prepared to cope with the demands of a society that has moved on; and learners are being prepared for a society that no longer exists in practice. In order to address this problem, this thesis calls for a greater emphasis on issues of digital inclusion, integration of whole communities, understanding of the dynamics of integrating ICTs into the classroom, exploring opportunities for the expansion of rapid-prototyping at school level and the promotion of digital literacy. Though this is not a definitive list, the researcher has developed working solutions to each of these issues, as presented in five journal articles. Investigations were conducted in the Tshwane area with male and female learners in both primary and secondary schools. The selection of the learners from both advantaged and disadvantaged institutions was left to the teachers. Design research was the main methodology adopted for this research. The investigations started in 200'1 and the bulk of the work was concluded between 2007-2010. Greater emphasis is placed on a qualitative approach with limited quantitative analysis. The findings of this research indicate the need to extend the scope of the investigation and to massify the different interventions. The pedagogical shift has been away from information transfer, towards using information communication technologies to promote creativity and innovation in a stimulating constructivist environment This has led to an opportunity to track learner involvement in SET events over their school careers and to identify talented individuals. In addition, the findings indicate that there is little difference between learners from advantaged and disadvantaged communities. Added to this is the development of a solution to address the digital divide through the creation of virtual interactive classrooms which can digitally include learners from geographically separated classrooms in remote communities. The strategic importance of ICTs, creativity and innovation are key components of a Human Capital Development strategy, especially at a time when there is a growing shortage of scarce skills in key areas. Post Grade 12 interventions are short term solutions that are not sustainable. This thesis calls for the establishment of a SET pipeline from grassroots level, in order to grow the feeder stock for a national system of innovation as a long-term investment in the future. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Agile methods for Information Systems Development (ISD) projects are claimed to encourage developers to be more flexible and efficient by means of arrangements in the development team’s physical and social environment. Research has, however, not yet answered the questions of how, why, and in what contexts agile methods work. ISD can be understood as a highly complex undertaking, which requires the developers’ creativity. The creative process is susceptible to the individual’s task motivation, which in turn is affected by the physical and social environment. In view of this, I argue that theories of motivation, such as the Self-Determination Theory, and theories of creativity could be usefully applied in such research. This study analyses Scrum, one of the most popular agile methods. Empirical data were collected through focused interviews with developers who had extensive experience of working in projects using various agile methods. Narratives of work episodes with perceived high and low motivation were analyzed in terms of motivation theory. Interview data were classified according to the type of motivation experienced and analyzed in relation to the agile method arrangement involved. The results of the investigation demonstrate how agile methods affect developers’ motivation in ways that are conducive to creative performance. The most pronounced effects are related to the individuals’ perceived work-related competence, autonomy, and sense of belonging to the team. Several agile arrangements in combination affect motivation in the positive direction, the single most influential factor being the team’s daily stand-up meetings. The agile arrangement that seems most difficult to implement without causing episodes of low motivation is the product owner role. The analytical approach taken in this study contributes to a better understanding of the aspects that are critical to the successful implementation of agile methods. / Agila metoder för systemutvecklingsprojekt syftar till att öka utvecklarnas flexibilitet och effektivitet genom arrangemang av utvecklarnas fysiska och psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Forskning om hur, varför och i vilka sammanhang agila metoder fungerar är dock ännu otillräcklig. Systemutveckling kan beskrivas som en komplex uppgift som fordrar utvecklarnas kreativitet. Individens kreativa process påverkas av individens uppgiftsmotivation, vilken i sin tur påverkas av faktorer i den fysiska och psykosociala arbetsmiljön. Mot den bakgrunden framhålls psykologisk teori om motivation, som Self-Determination Theory, och teori om kreativitet, som relevant för forskning om agila metoder. I avhandlingen analyseras Scrum, en av de mest populära agila metoderna. Empiriska data har hämtats från fokusintervjuer med utvecklare med lång erfarenhet av arbete i agila projektmiljöer. Deras berättelser om episoder med starka motivationsupplevelser har analyserats med stöd av teorin. Intervjudata har klassificerats avseende motivationstyp och i relation till inverkande agila arrangemang. Resultaten visar hur agila metoder inverkar på utvecklares motivation i avseenden med relevans för kreativa prestationer. Starkast var inverkan relaterad till utvecklarnas upplevelse av arbetsrelaterad kompetens, autonomi och samhörighet med utvecklingsteamet. Flera samverkande agila arrangemang inverkade positivt på motivationen; allra starkast inverkan hade teamets dagliga stå-upp-möte. Det agila arrangemang som var svårast att implementera utan att bidra till uppkomsten av negativt inverkande episoder var rollen produktägare. Studien bidrar med kunskap relevant för implementering av agila metoder i systemutvecklingsprojekt.

My thesis exhibition, ‘A PART OF THE WHOLE,’ explores self-portraiture by assembling paintings of close-up images of my skin from underappreciated body parts. I paint the textures of my hands and feet as evidence of artistic labor striving for the continuation of artistic creativity. The thesis exhibition includes conventional paintings assembled paintings, installations, and items from the studio. The easels serve two purposes: presenting the paintings and functioning as metaphorical backbone supporting skin paintings. Lastly, a cast of my own face serves as a death mask that functions as an authentic seal of artistic authorship for my thesis exhibition.

Dagens ledare har en avgörande roll i att främja kreativitet bland sina medarbetare för organisatorisk konkurrenskraft och framgång, i och med omvärldens höga förändringstakt. Det kreativitetsfrämjande ledarskapet är ännu ett outforskat område och kräver ytterligare forskning för att få en utökad förståelse för dess innebörd. Syftet med denna studie var att identifiera vilka ledarskapsfaktorer som är avgörande för att främja kreativitet i förbättringsarbeten inom tillverkande leanorganisationer. För att besvara syftet genomfördes en fallstudie med både kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod. En egen enkät utformades utifrån den tidigare forskningen om hur ledare kan skapa ett kreativt organisationsklimat. Enkäten besvarades av 84 industriarbetare och fyra produktionsledare intervjuades, för att ta del av upplevelser och uppfattningar kring ledarskapet i förbättringsarbetet ur olika perspektiv. Den kvantitativa undersökningen resulterade i sex ledarskapsfaktorer som hade ett signifikant samband till kreativa prestationer. Den kvalitativa undersökningen resulterade i ytterligare fyra avgörande faktorer som nämndes av samtliga intervjupersoner. Den avgörande faktorn var ledarens förmåga att (1) själv uppvisa och främja motivation bland medarbetarna.  Resterande nio identifierade kreativitetsfrämjande ledarskapsfaktorer är följande: (2) Kunskaper och kreativa förmågor hos ledare och medarbetare. Ledarens förmåga att (3a) tillämpa ett närvarande och stödjande ledarskap (3b) ge feedback och uppmärksamma resultat, (4) främja ansvars- och initiativtagande, (5) få medarbetare att vilja utmana sig själva, (6) skapa en jämn arbetsbelastning, (7) eliminera upplevda organisationshinder, (8) skapa förståelse och samsyn kring mål, (9)  stimulera tvärfunktionellt arbete, (10) skapa relationer av tillit och trygghet. Både de kvantitativa och kvalitativa resultaten visar på att den studerade organisationen brister i samtliga ledarskapsfaktorer och har stora möjligheter att uppnå utökad framgång i förbättringsarbetet vid utveckling av ledarskapet. Organisationen bör särskilt beakta medarbetarnas motivation samt de ledarskapsfaktorer som har likheter med det transformativa ledarbeteendet. Andra organisationer bör även kunna öka den organisatoriska kreativitetsnivån vid hänsyn till samtliga identifierade ledarskapsfaktorer. Studien anses bidra till forskningen med en ökad förståelse för innebörden av vilka ledarskapsfaktorer som kan vara av betydelse för att främja kreativitet inom leanorganisationer. / Present day leaders have a crucial role in enhancing creative performances to obtain organizational competitiveness and success, due to the rapidly changing outside world. The creativity stimulating leadership is still not fully explored and requires further research to obtain an enhanced understanding of its meaning. The purpose of this study was to identify critical leadership factors that stimulate creativity in the work of improvements in a lean manufacturing organization.  In order to answer the research questions a case study research methodology with both quantitative and qualitative methods was used. A questionnaire was designed based on previous research about leadership that creates a creative organizational climate. The questionnaire was answered by 84 blue collars and interviews were performed with four production managers, to explore experiences and perceptions of the leadership from different perspectives. The quantitative analysis resulted in six leadership factors that had a significant relation to creative performances. The qualitative analysis resulted in four additional factors that were mentioned by all interviewed respondents. The most critical leadership factor was (1) the leader’s ability to demonstrate and create motivation and commitment among the employees. The other nine identified creativity stimulating leadership factors were: (2) employee and manager skills and creative abilities. The leader´s ability to (3a) support and integrate in the daily work, (3b) give feedback and recognize results, (4) stimulate initiatives and responsibility by employees, (5) stimulate the ambition of taking challenges, (6) level out the workload pressure, (7) eliminate experienced organizational obstacles, (8) engender an understanding and consensus on work goals, (9) promote cross-functional work, (10) create a climate of strong relationships and trust. The quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that the studied organization is insufficient concerning all identified leadership factors, and has great potential to achieve increased success related to the work of improvements if developing the leadership. The organization should in particular consider the leadership factors that have similarities with the transformational leadership behavior. Other organizations should also be able to enhance the organizational creativity level if considering all identified leadership factors. The findings of this study are considered to contribute to the research with an enhanced understanding of the leadership factors that may be important to consider to stimulate creativity in lean manufacturing organizations.