Teachers’ creativity in exploring students’ creativity: a review of research articles on creativity in schools

Cultivating creativity has been a priority in academic institutions in some countries. Teachers and schools are challenged to bring the concept of creativity into real application in the education system. Indonesia's Ministry of Education has made an effort to evaluate the components of creativity that can be embedded in classroom settings, and teachers play an essential role in promoting creativity. This study aims to identify teachers’ creativity in exploring students’ creativity and the way they implement creativity in the classroom. To accomplish this issue, this research reviewed eight research articles on teachers’ creativity published from 2012 to 2022 in the EFL context. The findings indicated that the teachers applied two ways in exploring students’ creativity: using creative teaching approaches and creative media. The creative approaches that teachers use are different depending on the skills they focus on. For example, teachers used a communicative teaching approach when they taught speaking and listening. When they focused on writing and reading, they tended to use task-based activities such as word blending, riddles, and metaphors. In implementing creativity, the results of the articles’ review showed that the implementation of teachers’ creativity depends on the activity they use and students’ needs. The study revealed that teachers explored their creativity when adapting the materials to address students’ needs and assess students’ performance. This finding suggests that teachers’ creativity is essential to promoting students’ creativity and transferring information effectively, and the creativity they perform depends on the situation and condition of each school.