Creativity for Sustainability: How Do Polish Teachers Develop Students’ Creativity Competence? Analysis of Research Results

Called the competence of the 21st century, creativity is one of the key competencies for sustainable development. There is no fixed path to achieve sustainability and it is subject to human creativity. However, integrated development of both is surely an under-researched topic. Creative thinking and creative problem solving should be a necessary and significant component of modern sustainable education. Students must learn to associate creativity with sustainability. Helping them understand sustainability by exposing them to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and designing new creations that honor the planetary boundaries is crucial. The paper focuses on developing creativity by Polish teachers who work with adolescents. The assumption was that creativity can be developed using certain didactic methods and forms. The objective of the study was to explore and to describe which didactic methods and forms teachers use to shape the competence of creativity in students. The teachers took part in a survey and were asked what methods and forms they use to develop creativity in their students. The sample consisted of 337 teachers from the Małopolska region. The results of the analyses show that teachers use only a few of the methods recommended to facilitate creativity, which may lead to a low level of this competence among the students. They also use the most common didactic forms, which may not support the development of creativity competences. Moreover, the research results show that there are several factors, such as the teacher’s seniority and the location of the school, which determine the choice of individual teaching methods.