The educational system is an invention by people to control the life force of conative energy. It teaches individuals to deny their own creative self-fulfillment and future options, to amass authoritative abstractions, and to welcome adulthood within the parameters given by others. (Author/SJL)

The author offers these suggestions for increasing the creative component of elementary fine arts education: In art, encourage drawing, not just crafts; in music, use classical and folk music, as well as popular songs; for physical development, deemphasize team sports in favor of fitness and creative movement. (SJL)

Describes the characteristics of the visually gifted student, comparing and contrasting this type of youngster to the academically gifted student. Part of a theme issue on art education for students with special needs. (SJL)

Reviews 23 recent texts, supplements, and professional references for gifted and creative instruction at various grade levels, K-l2. Several of the titles concern education in the arts and the humanities. Appended is an index to other reviews of gifted materials which have appeared in this magazine. (SJL)

Reviews the major literature on creative processes in children that should be predictive of adult creativity, focusing on affective processes and children's play. Describes Russ's (1993) model of affect and creativity, and cognitive processes, personality processes, and affective processes important in creativity. Discusses theories of play,…

Examines six sets of data on giftedness and creativity, finding little evidence for the belief that creativity in adults is mirrored in children. Questions whether children are creative, and whether creativity can be taught. Discusses creation of transitional objects; gaps, novelty, curiosity, and exploration; puberty as a developmental marker;…

This study examined the creative development of university students by examining data (n=859) from surveys of students in Hong Kong. Results found general monotonic decline in creativity with years of study and the general superiority of verbal creativity among students of humanities and social sciences, whereas business students had the highest…

Three independent divisions of a large public agency, each with between 35 and 55 members, were randomly divided into experimental, placebo, and control groups for an intervention emphasizing decision-making and goal-setting practices that promote maximum employee interaction and participation. Results indicate increased levels of creativity after…

This article describes one poet/teacher's program to explore and cultivate student creativity, intuition, and imagination through a series of visual, verbal, and psychological exercises. Visualization, free-writing, association, variations on other poets' work, and memory mapping are among the creativity exercises employed prior to actual writing…

Reviews theory and research on the relationship between humor and creativity. Briefly describes two Israeli projects aimed at encouraging humor creativity in adolescents and at teaching teachers to use humor to foster creativity. (FMW)

Four artistic people of various ages were interviewed concerning their conscious and unconscious thought during creative activity, emotions which precipitated creative activity and intermingled with cognition, and intrinsic motivators and rewards. The interviews supported research regarding the internal forces of creativity. (Author/JDD)

This study investigated 137 Venezuelan college freshmen's performance on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking as a function of field dependence or independence as well as "field mobility." Findings indicated that the most mobile students performed best on creativity tests whereas "fixed" students performed better on tests of…

This discussion of creativity in preschoolers and its assessment examines: D. Shmukler's creative elements model; the importance of play in early childhood and its relation to creativity; individual differences including gender, play disposition, and language facility; creativity training; suggestions for the development of creativity; and…

This study examined the developmental patterns of and impact of societal influences on 11 highly creative female artists, ages 26-33. Results indicated that, despite negative formal educational experiences, the women generally had supportive families and at least one influential mentor. Art areas were selected at very young ages. (DB)

This interview with a gifted adult, Curt Dempster, the artistic director of the Ensemble Studio Theater, New York City, explores his career development, his suggestions for identifying artistic talent in children, his ideas about intensive training programs for talented children, and his concerns about the role of arts in contemporary culture. (DB)