Very little existing research on the intersection of these topics is actually embedded in classrooms-so we aim to distill significant aspects of the relationship and share implications for teachers and learners. While mindfulness and creativity individually arise in education discourses, they are rarely linked and there is little to guide teachers in identifying research takeaways for the complexity of learning settings. Given the importance both areas have to thinking and learning, and their increasing presence in educational contexts, it is important to understand research on their relationship.įor our purposes in this thematic literature review, we seek to identify themes and trends in the research, and then discuss the implications for educational settings. These are broad ideas with unique connections to emotions, attention, stress, wellness, and awareness of one’s self and the world ( Baas, Nevicka, & Ten Velden, 2014). There is a theoretical reason for presuming an important relationship between them. Yet there is a need for a synthesis of extant research findings in understanding the mindfulness-creativity relationship and how it matters in learning settings. But perhaps more importantly, creativity is a way of being in the world with substantive value for human-centered wellbeing and expression ( Goff & Torrance, 1991).īoth mindfulness and creativity are complex areas that have been independently touted in education practices. Creativity is a complex area of research and practice, yet neoliberal perspectives have often driven educational discourse on creativity, emphasizing instrumentalist and societal drive toward innovation ( Mehta, Creely, & Henriksen, 2020). While this so-called ‘standard definition’ represents many existing research definitions, it does not embody the diversity and divergence of ways that creativity has been defined across a range of practices, disciplines and traditions ( Henriksen, Creely, & Henderson, 2019). Creativity is frequently defined as the ability to develop novel and effective ideas, artifacts, or solutions ( Runco, 2014). Scholars have suggested that the effects of mindfulness also relate to other skills and abilities, such as creativity ( Carson & Langer, 2006). Most mindfulness research has examined its potential to regulate stress and improve cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal functioning ( Sedlmeier et al., 2012). It is defined as a state of “nonjudgmental, moment-to-moment awareness” ( Kabat-Zinn, 1990, p.2), and has been studied across varied disciplines such as psychology, physiology, healthcare, neuroscience, the arts, and others. Mindfulness has recently received attention across scholarly and popular discourse ( King & Badham, 2018). Here, we explore the relationship, and also seek to explore the practical applications and implications for education contexts. These two areas have been increasingly discussed in education settings, yet there is little research-based guidance to help consider their interrelationship for teaching and learning. One relatively recent and growing area of literature involves the relationship between mindfulness and creativity ( Kudesia, 2015). This article reflects on the key findings of scholarly work on the mindfulness-creativity relationship with interpretative discussion and implications for educational research and practice.Įxisting research on creativity has examined its different relationships, connections, or variables-such as personality skills, neuroscientific or cognitive correlates of creativity, disciplinary knowledge, imagination, bodily thinking, or the ways that creativity emerges in real-world design settings, among others ( Runco, 2014). There is solid evidence to show a generally beneficial and supportive relationship, in that practicing mindfulness can support creativity-but many factors affect this and there are a range of considerations for practice. This thematic review and qualitative analysis of extant literature identifies four themes that speak to the connection between mindfulness and creativity. Our goal is to understand findings from the literature and consider the implications for educational practice and research, with an eye to how mindfulness can be supportive to learners’ creativity. This article reviews the literature on the intersection of these topics in order to understand where and how these two related but distinctive areas of research connect, and how this pertains to the complexity of education settings. Mindfulness and creativity have both come to the forefront of educational interest-but a better understanding of their relationship and the implications for education is needed.
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