ABSTRACT
Modern living demands flexibility and adaptability in thinking and learning due to the rapidity of change in so many walks of life. To cope with challenge and pace of this kind, children need to develop creative and imaginative ways of thinking, learning and acting to prepare them for their adult lives, for work and also for their free time. This clearly has implications for educators in planning and organizing learning opportunity in the classroom. This chapter will give an overview of the place and value of creativity in the development and learning of children, focusing on the way in which the learning environment gives opportunity for children to respond to their world in different ways. The impact of those who contribute to the process of children's learning will be examined. We will consider how early experience should be given continuity and progression in the curriculum. A further dimension will be the role of schools in providing curriculum opportunities conducive to creative teaching and learning. Readers will be encouraged to examine a range of literature and their personal experiences and to relate these to current practice in education.
