ABSTRACT
The word creativity originated in the nineteenth century as a ‘creative power or faculty; ability to create’ (Brown 1993: 544) and has increasingly come to the fore in educational policy terms in the last 15 years, both in England and internationally. This chapter considers different ways of defining creativity, the contexts in which the emergence of this term has occurred and how creative practices have been/ are being shaped by political considerations. Furthermore, it looks at potential opportunities for creativity within the English curriculum and its associated assessment frameworks and introduces some key research and reflections on the subject. Throughout, the chapter raises issues and questions for readers to explore with reference to their own developing experiences of English teaching and learning.
