Spirituality and creativity in the early childhood context

ABSTRACT

This article reports a study on the impact of a customised spiritual education programme (SEP) on improving creativity for kindergarteners. The SEP was effective, and participants (n = 529) scored higher on creativity domains of figural fluency, originality, elaboration, abstractness of titles, and resistance to premature closure, compared to the waitlist control group. Girls, kindergarteners whose primary caregiver parents had higher formal education (postgraduate degree or professional degree), and who attended at least 80% of the SEP sessions (10–12 sessions), scored higher on all creativity parameters. Results suggest that spirituality, whose core is abstract and nonmaterial thinking, can be linked to nurturing creativity as a developmental asset among young children. The SEP may need some refining for young boys by including more externalising activities and simpler, relatable instructions for kindergarteners whose primary caregiver parents have lower formal education. Findings generally suggest that spiritual training can potentially bolster kindergarteners’ creativity.

KEYWORDS:

• Creativity
• kindergarteners
• spiritual education programme
• creative thinking

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Samta P Pandya

Samta P Pandya is a faculty member at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. Her areas of research include faith, spirituality, and interventions across the lifespan.