"THE STUDY OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CREATIVITY AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS"

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ABSTRACT

     This research project seeks to delve into the intricate relationship between creativity and academic achievement and to shed light on the potential impacts of fostering creativity on academic performance. This study aims to investigate the role of contextual factors, such as teaching methods, curriculum design, and medium of instruction, in shaping the relationship between creativity and academic achievement. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature, survey method, and qualitative inquiries, this project endeavors to provide valuable insights into the dynamics of creativity and academic achievement. It aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse surrounding educational practices and policies aimed at nurturing students' creativity while supporting their academic success.Achieving academic success involves not only demonstrating proficiency in specific subject areas but is a key determinant of future opportunities. Exploring the relationship between creativity and academic achievement has been a subject of interest and debate among researchers and educators, some arguing that creativity is a vital component of academic success, enhancing students' ability to think critically, solve complex problems, and adapt to new challenges.Students with higher creativity scores tended to perform better academically though nuanced differences were observed based on school type, location, and medium of instruction.Urban students demonstrated marginally higher creativity scores but comparable academic achievement levels to rural students.The findings underscore the need for inclusive educational practices that value linguistic diversity and foster creativity across different language mediums.

KEY WORDS

Creativity, Academic achievement, educational policies, Urban and Rural, Private and Government schools.

Received - 09/07/2024, Accepted - 13/07/2024, Published Date - 31/07/2024

INTRODUCTION

In the realm of education, two seemingly distinct concepts often intersect and influence each other in profound ways: creativity and academic achievement. While creativity is commonly associated with the arts and innovation, academic achievement typically pertains to performance and success in traditional educational settings. However, the relationship between these two constructs is far from straightforward, prompting a deeper exploration into how they intersect and potentially influence one another. Creativity and academic achievement have long been subjects of fascination and scrutiny within the realm of education and psychology. While academic achievement is typically measured by grades, test scores, and other quantitative assessments, creativity encompasses a broader spectrum of abilities, including originality, fluency, flexibility, and elaboration.

NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH

•           Research plays a crucial role in various fields, particularly in education, psychology, and cognitive science, where the need for understanding complex phenomena is paramount. Take, for example, the intricate relationship between creativity and academic achievement.

•           Educational policies and practices benefit immensely from research findings. Understanding how creativity influences academic achievement, for instance, can guide educators in developing effective strategies to foster creativity in the classroom while simultaneously enhancing students' learning outcomes.

•           By uncovering effective teaching methods, intervention strategies, and support systems, research helps educators tailor their approaches to better meet the diverse needs of students.

•           Furthermore, research addresses societal challenges by identifying barriers to learning and development, advocating for policies and programs that promote equal opportunities for all individuals.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

    Research in any field will be fruitful only when the researcher is aware of the present studies. Research is, and should be, a continuous process in any field of study. Review of related literature is an important step and it plays a vital role in all types of research. The required insight into the problem can be developed as a result of survey of previous research. Mac Kinnon (1962) conducted a study on gender and creativity among school students. The sample consists of 100 boys and girls school students. Creativity Test developed by Torrance was administered to sample. Results revealed that there was no significantly relationship between boys and girls on creativity on school students.

     Paramesh (1973) studied the academic achievement and creative thinking of 200 high school boys and girls. Creative Thinking Scale developed by Wallach and Kogan and Academic Achievement marks obtained by the previous academic year was taken into consideration. Results supported that girls were better than boys on creative thinking and achievement score in English, Science and Mathematics subjects.

        Karimi (2000) examined the relationship between sex, creativity and academic achievement among secondary school students. The sample consists of 250 (125 boys and 125 girls) rural and urban school students. Creativity Test developed by Singh and Kumar and Academic Achievement marks obtained by the previous academic year were taken into subjects. Results revealed that there was no significant difference between boys and girls on creativity and academic achievement of students; creativity and academic achievement of urban scores were higher than the rural school students.

Mehera (2004) explored the creativity and academic achievement in mathematics of 600 (300 boys and 300 girls) urban and rural areas of Burdwan district in West Bengal State. Creativity Scale by Singh and Academic Achievement marks obtained by the previous academic year was taken into consideration. Research findings indicated that creativity and academic achievement scores of boys were higher than girls.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

•           whether boys and girls demonstrate differences in their creative abilities?

•           Are there disparities in creativity between children from rural and urban localities?

•           Does the school environment play a role in fostering creativity?

ASSUMPTIONS

•           creativity transcends the realm of inherent talent. Instead, it could be cultivated and nurtured within the very framework of academic settings.

•           By fostering creative thinking skills in students, the impact could extend beyond the traditional focus on content mastery and rote memorization.

•           Imagine students who are not just adept at recalling information, but who can also utilize it in novel ways, generate innovative solutions to problems, and forge connections across seemingly disparate disciplines. This spark of creativity has the potential to ignite a deeper understanding of the subject matter, fostering a more robust foundation for future learning endeavours. However, the research might also delve into potential roadblocks. Traditional assessments and pedagogical styles, with their emphasis on standardized responses and established procedures, might inadvertently stifle creative expression. Perhaps the project will explore methods to bridge this divide, fostering creativity within the established framework of academic achievement. Ultimately, this research has the potential to illuminate how these two seemingly distinct forces can work in concert to empower students and unlock their full potential for academic success.

OBJECTIVES

•           To study the intricate relationship between creativity and academic achievement, with a focus on understanding how these two constructs intersect and influence each other within educational settings.

•           To understand how creativity has the ability to generate novel and valuable ideas, and academic achievement, typically measured by grades, test scores, and other quantitative assessments, are both essential components of successful learning and development.

•           To identify potential barriers to creativity and academic achievement and develop recommendations for creating more supportive and enriching learning environments.

METHODOLOGY

Method of research -

The survey method is a widely used research technique for collecting data from a large and diverse sample population. In this study, the survey method will be employed to gather information on creativity levels among students in Maharashtra, India. The sample will consist of 100 students, with an equal distribution of 50 boys and 50 girls, drawn from both private and public schools across Pune district.

POPULATION

Students belonging to grade IX of State Board schools from Pune district constituted the population of the study.

SAMPLE

Schools located in urban and rural areas were selected at random from Pune district. Fifty boys and fifty girls were selected at random from each of the class, thus giving a total of 100 subjects for the study, equally distributed between the two sexes, two localities of class 9.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

To conclusively determine the scope of the research undertaken supplemented by the need to come at a decisive conclusion with respect to the research questions that were identified by the author, the Random Sampling technique was used.

TOOL OF STUDY

Creativity Test

Creativity and Innovations test re standardized by Passi’s Creativity Test (1982) was used in the study. The test is the modified version of Creativity test developed and standardized by B. K Passi in 1982. The battery of creativity tests used consisted of 10 subtests. Seven of them were verbal tests while the remaining three were nonverbal tests. They are:

Unusual Uses:

Basically, the Unusual Uses Test which is used in almost all creativity test batteries requires the subjects to redefine the object after thinking about the various ways in which it can be used. Common things like Brick, Wooden stick, water, and Cotton were used as stimuli to let the subject’s thinking going in different directions.

Instances:

In this test the pupils were given 4 items. For each of the items they were required to tell all things that suit the specific concept under question.

Similarities: The children were provided with 4 pairs of things and they were asked to suggest as many different ways in which the two things in a given pair of objects were similar. They were to generate various similarities between the two objects in each of four pairs.

Scoring:

As there is no right or wrong responses for the creativity test items much care has to be exercised in scoring them. To enhance the objectivity of scoring the usual procedure adopted is to get the responses scored by different scorers, and to see that the inter scorer reliability is high.

STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES

The obtained data would be analysed statistically in order to test the hypotheses. The Means and SD’s of the scores would be calculated. To find out the effects of independent variables, ‘t’ tests and correlation would be used.

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

Table two shows the mean fluency scores and SDs of different sub groups of the subjects on the verbal tests it could be seen from the table that the mean scores of the boys was 103.02 while that of girls scores was 92.98 this shows that boys scored higher than girls. It could be seen from the table that the students from urban scored better than those from rural subjects

Data Analysis: To test the hypothesis regarding the difference in creativity between students instructed in English and Marathi mediums of instruction, the following statistical analyses were conducted

Mean Creativity Scores: The mean creativity scores of students instructed in English and Marathi were calculated separately. This analysis provides a basic comparison of the average creativity levels between the two groups.

T-Score Analysis: T-scores were calculated for creativity scores in both groups to standardize the scores and facilitate comparison. The t-score formula accounts for differences in sample size and variability between groups. A higher t-score indicates a greater deviation from the mean, suggesting a more significant difference in creativity scores between groups.

Standard Deviation: The standard deviation of creativity scores in each group was calculated. Standard deviation measures the spread of data points around the mean. A larger standard deviation suggests greater variability in creativity scores within the group.

Correlation Analysis: Correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the relationship between medium of instruction (English or Marathi) and creativity scores. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables. A positive correlation coefficient indicates that higher scores in one variable (medium of instruction) are associated with higher scores in the other variable (creativity).

Expected Findings: Based on the hypothesis, it is anticipated that students instructed in Marathi will exhibit higher creativity scores compared to their English-medium counterparts

STATISTICAL MEASURES AND RESULTS OF TEST OFSIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MEAN SCORES OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS: TYPE OF SCHOOL.

The calculated ‘t’ value (1.157) is higher than the table value (1.96) at 0.05 level of significance. This shows that there is a significant difference between government and private college high school students in possession of Academic Achievement. It can be inferred from the above finding that high school students who are studying in private schools possess more academic achievement than the high school students who are studying government schools.

CREATIVE THINKING IN RURAL AND URBAN SECONDARY SCHOOL CHILDREN-

The mean scores of rural secondary school children were (x = 18.9)

The mean scores of urban secondary school children were (x = 23.2). There is significant difference between rural and urban secondary school children. The t value was 2.46 at 0.05 level. The urban secondary school children do have high creative thinking than rural secondary school children.

CREATIVE THINKING AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT-