Unfolding the Story of Creativity: A Narrative-Visual Approach to Understanding the Impact of Parents and Teachers on the Development fo Creativity
Graduation Date
Fall 2012
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
Degree Granting Institution
Notre Dame de Namur University
Program Name
Art Therapy
Dean
John Lemmon, PhD
First Reader
Amy Backos, PhD, ATR-BC
Second Reader
Richard Carolan, EdD, ATR-BC
Abstract
Interactions with parents and teachers have a profound effect on a child’s view of creativity, process of exploration, and evaluation of self. In a time of shifting priorities and budget cuts that could remove art programs from today’s educational system, this research attempts to locate epiphanies, turning points, and disruptions in the lifelong development of creativity by collecting childhood stories involving parents and teachers from seven ordinary adults. A combination of narrative and art- based inquiry was utilized to compare subsequent reactions of these interactions with present-day views of creativity, and to explore the long-lasting effects of positive and adverse interactions with parents and teachers. Results show that parents and teachers are primarily responsible for creativity development, with an influence that extends well into adulthood. An individual’s understanding of creativity, level of self confidence, pursuit of education and/or a career, ability to persevere after negative experiences, and style of interacting with future generations of children can be traced back to interactions with parents and teachers. This study contributes to a growing field of research on the importance of creativity development in the home and school system.