The presentation is a part of a current doctoral project at Karlstad University in Sweden. The study covers the conceptualization of creativity in Swedish preschools. 

In contemporary society creativity is recognized as a vital and highly valued competence (Craft & Jeffrey, 2008; Eckhoff, 2011). While widely accepted, concepts of creativity are often subject to multiple interpretations. In the educational context, these notions are often not sufficiently reflected upon by the practitioners, which may potentially limit pedagogical practice. There is, therefore, a need to synthesize and make visible the current evidence base regarding educators’ beliefs on creativity. 

Despite the importance of early childhood education, pedagogical research on creativity, both nationally and internationally, has primarily focused on school and older children. Moreover, the research covers mostly the aspects of teaching and creativity but often neglects the practitioners’ understanding of the concept (Leggett, 2017). The aim of the presented literature review is to identify and map the available recent empirical evidence base on in-service preschool teachers’ beliefs about creativity and thereby identify gaps in the research knowledge. 

Systematic Mapping and Analysis of Research Topographies (SMART) method was used to conduct the research (Nilholm, 2017). Selected studies include peer-reviewed empirical qualitative and quantitative research published in scientific journals from 2010 to 2022. 

Findings suggest that creativity is generally highly valued by educators, and educators hold complex and democratic views on creativity. However, there exists incongruence between teachers’ positive beliefs about creativity and their actual pedagogical practices. Educators’ beliefs are also found to be highly dependent on context. The results of the literature review also highlight gaps in knowledge where future research is needed which is the current doctoral project aims to address. 

The study is relevant in the context of Nordic educational research, as it is expected to contribute to a deeper understanding of the concept of creativity and its role in early childhood education. Consequently, it will both challenge and provide some guidance on the development of pedagogical practices. 

Craft, A., & Jeffrey, B. (2008). Creativity and performativity in teaching and learning: Tensions, dilemmas, constraints, accommodations and synthesis. British Educational Research Journal, 34(5), 577-584. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920802223842 

Eckhoff, A. (2011). Creativity in the early childhood classroom: Perspectives of preservice teachers. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 32(3), 240-255. 

Leggett, N. (2017). Early childhood creativity: Challenging educators in their role to intentionally develop creative thinking in children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(6), 845-853. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0836-4 

Nilholm, C. (2017). Smart: ett sätt att genomföra forskningsöversikter (1 uppl.). Studentlitteratur.