Perceptions about the relationship between curiosity and the development of creativity in post secondary education

Post-secondary education has acted as a means to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the real world, however, the foundations on which tertiary education curricula have traditionally been built, have yet to enhance students’ creative ability in a demonstrable manner. It has become more important now than ever to tap into the innate ability rooted within each individual capacity for inquiry and curiosity. The research question What perceptions are held by education stakeholders about the relationship between curiosity and the development of creativity? guided this research. To address this, an exploratory qualitative approach was adopted and data were gathered through open ended, face-to-face interviews. Subsequently, the interview transcripts were thematically analyzed using the NVivo qualitative data analysis software. The diverse and insightful findings revealed that respondents agree that there is a relationship between curiosity and the development of creativity but that it still needs to be improved across universities in Dubai. Moreover, the findings revealed a range of elements that respondents believed are required to trigger curiosity and cultivate creativity which included autonomy, mentorship, trial and error, diverse thinking, and openness to change just to name a few. Finally, recommendations that the education sector should consider were made based on the findings and included piloting IBL, conducting creativity methods trainings or workshops for professors, and reassessing the role of the professor.