Creativity, innovation and individuality are fast becoming the watchwords of modern education policy newspeak the world over - but what do they really mean to the frontline teacher? Defining them was the task posed to an international group of arts educators last week when they met at HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity for a conference on creative education.
Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Creative Culture, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Lingnan University and Polytechnic University, and sponsored by the Home Affairs Bureau, the conference brought together academics, artists and educators from places ranging from the mainland to Australia, Denmark and the United States.
Stephen Chan Ching-kiu, professor of cultural studies at Lingnan, said the conference had been 'very fruitful' in hammering out an idea of what it meant to get creative in the classroom.
'I have learned a lot about creativity and what it is and also the conditions for creativity in the ways that we work,' Professor Chan said. 'Creativity is a complex but important process - the recognition that creativity is a process is an important point.
'We have seen that learning is a complex, even chaotic, process, more so than we often realise in education.'
Professor Chan said it was also important to note that what bred creativity in one setting might not work in another.
'We need to understand the local and global cultural contexts under which creativity can be promoted,' he said. 'But we need also to look at the less successful examples as well. When you look at education, I think there have been more failures than successes.'