چكيده لاتين :
Introduction
The development of creativity is the purpose of education. Creativity is defined as the production of an idea or action that is new and valued (Cesikszentmihalyi, 1996). According to Bear et al., (2003) creativity is the development of ideas, products, practices or procedures that are novel and potentially useful. Products are considered novel if they are unique, and useful; if they have potential value for society (Shalley et al., 2004).Torrance suggested that creativity consists of four components: fluency, originality, flexibility and elaboration. Fluency is the ability to produce many ideas. Originality is the ability to produce novel ideas. Flexibility is the ability to produce various ideas. Elaboration is the ability to produce elaborated ideas (Sheikholeslami & Razavieh, 2005). Two areas of research were observed in creativity literature. One area examines social factors, such as context of family and school and society, that have an effect on creativity. The other area investigates personal characteristics associated with creativity. Personal characteristics that have been studied are cognitive styles, personality and motivation. Personal characteristics are important determinant of creativity, since the individual is the ultimate source of new ideas, with the environment affecting the way the individualsʹ capacities are applied (Redmond et al., 1993). Motivation is the personal factor that has an important role in the studentsʹ creativity. According to Amabileʹs (1996) framework of creativity, creative work involves three components: domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant skills and task motivation. Domain skills are talents, knowledge and technical skills about the domain. Creativity skills refer to conductive styles, cognitive styles and heuristic knowledge for the generation of novel production. Task motivation refers to intrinsic motivation towards tasks that motivates individuals to use domain and creative skills (Coelho & Sousa, 2011). Goal orientation theory has been increasingly considered for explaining individualsʹ motivation in achievement situations. Achievement goals consist of reasons and purposes that students consider for achievement tasks (Elliot, 1999). Goal orientation theory states that individuals peruse two types of goal orientation. Individuals with mastery goal orientations seek to improve their skills by engagement in challenging tasks, whereas performance orientation encourages individuals to outperform others. Mastery goals consist of mastery-approach goal orientation, and mastery-avoidance goal orientation. Performance goals consist of performance-approach goal orientation and performance-avoidance goal orientation (Elliot & McGregor, 2001). Intrinsic goal orientation (mastery) is associated with deep cognitive processing and extrinsic goal orientation (performance) is associated with surface information processing (Wolters & Pintrich, 1996). Individuals with mastery goal orientations select challenging tasks and make use of deep cognitive processing (Peer, 2007).These individuals have intrinsic motivation and get satisfaction from mastering the tasks, thus we expect them to show higher creativity. Furthermore, past research has revealed some inconsistency in the findings on gender differences in goal orientations and creativity. Some studies have showed that girls score significantly higher than boys on mastery goals and components of creativity (e.g., Etnier et al., 2004; Shahraray & Rashidi, 2009), whereas other studies have not found any differences between girls and boys on mastery goals and creativity (e.g., Hibbard & Buhrmester, 2010; Sheikholeslami & Razavieh, 2005).
Research questions
Using the framework of achievement goal orientation, the present study was designed to examine the role of achievement goal orientations in creativity. The research questions are:
1- Do achievement goal orientations predict creativity and its components in students?
2- Are there any significant differences between male and female students in the scores of creativity and achievement goal orientations?
Method
This research is a correlational study. Goal orientation is the predictor. Creativity is the criterion variable. The statistical population included grade 2 and 3 students of Isfahan guidance schools. 329 students (169 girls and 160 boys) were selected through multistage cluster sampling. Achievement goal Orientations were measured through Achievement Goals Questionnaire (Elliot & McGregor, 2001). Creativity and its components were measured through Creativity Questionnaire (Abedi, 1993). The reliability and validity of the instruments were justified. The data collected was analyzed through multiple regression analysis (inter). Also, independent groups t-test was employed to compare the scores of goal orientations and creativity between boys and girls.
Results
Concerning the first research question, the findings indicated that master–approach and performance-avoidance goal orientations can significantly predict creativity and its components. As for the second research question, according to the results of t-test, the variable of sex showed a significant effect on the studentsʹ goal orientations and creativity. Girls scored significantly higher than boys on performance-approach goal orientation. Also, the scores of components of originality and elaboration were significantly higher in the girls than boys.
Discussion
The positive role of master–approach goals in creativity and its components is consistent with some of the previous findings (e.g., Peer, 2007; Coelho & Sousa, 2011).This finding suggests that the students with master-approach goals, seek novel and challenging situations, don not consider othersʹ judgment and have intrinsic motivation. Since these characteristics are necessary for the generation of creative ideas (Amabile, 1996), these students showed higher creativity. Also, the negative relationship between the performance-avoidance goal and creativity (except for the component of flexibility), indicated that worries about failure and negative judgment from others, decrease the studentsʹ creativity. This finding could have important implications for education.
Keywords: creativity, achievement goal orientations, students, gender differences.
