"Are you confident and cooperative?" "Do you have a strong interest and curiosity towards things most people think ordinary?" "Do you often cast doubt on what teachers or textbooks say?" "Can you still keep enthusiasm towards something even when you are frustrated or opposed to it?" These are four questions in a questionnaire on the creativity of Chinese teenagers that has recently been published.
Chinese teenagers lack creative personality
Experts consider that being "confident and cooperative", "interested and curious", or "questioning", and having "willpower and dynamism" are what a teenager of creative personality should possess. Only 7.3 percent of teenagers give positive answers to all four questions mentioned above. This means that only 7.3 percent of teenagers have creative personality. This figure is worrying for the development of the creative personality in the next generation of Chinese teenagers. The surveys of 1998 and 2000 are respectively 4.7 percent and 11 percent.
The same questionnaire on middle-school students who have been selected to take part in the finals of the 17th National Scientific and Technological Innovation Competition shows 26.3 percent possess creative personality, according to the four questions, 19 percentage points higher than the national figure.
The ability to "explore", being "sensitive" and having a "fluent" imagination for new things, as well as having a large "knowledge accumulation" seem to be the necessary ingredients for a teenager’s creative success, according to further characteristics belonging to the creative personality. Only 21.6 percent of middle school students are considered to have creative character according to the national survey, an increase of 1.6 percentage points comparing survey results from 2000. However those students who have been selected to join the national innovation competition have a higher score, 27.4 percentage points higher than the national figure.
Scientific and explorative study needs to be popularized
Although scientific and explorative study plays a very important role in fostering the scientific quality and creativity of teenagers, few teenagers have actually experienced the study in person. No matter through formal or informal education channels, figures are both under 29 percent. However, the figure for those students taking part in the national innovation competition surpassed 50 percent. And in further questioning, the national survey shows that 60.4 percent of surveyed teenagers had the experience of discovering and putting questions based on observation on nature, things around them and doubts of other people’s conclusions. However, 91.5 percent of the students taking part in the innovation competition had such experience.
What’s consistent with this is that surveyed teenagers in the country who had experienced the whole procedure of technical innovation, no matter through formal or informal education, were all lower than 26 percent. The result on those taking part in the innovation competition was 41.7 percent (through formal education channels), and 57.9 percent (through informal channels). Some 42.2 percent of surveyed teenagers had the experience of enriching their material through visits, drawings and material collection, from the will of improving or creating new products. The figure for those taking part in the innovation competition was 72.1 percent.
Outside environment has restricted creativity of teenagers
Family plays a significant role in fostering creativity in teenagers. How are Chinese families doing in this regard? Some 52.7 percent of parents have shown approval towards their children’s behavior for dismantling and installing an alarm clock. However, teenagers taking part in the national innovation competition can better enjoy "democratic" education methods, which are more conducive to fostering creativity. In their families, 70.4 percent of their parents showed approval towards their behavior of dismantling and installing an alarm clock.
School also plays a very important role in fostering children’s creativity. Surveyors have designed the following five questions to make a judgment on whether or not the school has created good environments for fostering teenagers’ creativity. They are that: "the school library can provide necessary scientific and technological books for its students", "the school has carried out various extra-curricular activities and has special counselors", "most of the students do not feel fear of their teachers", "the school has attached great importance to fostering student’s quality work and homework is not a big burden to them", "the computer room in the school can provide students with the opportunity of surfing the Internet." The result of the national survey shows that only 2 percent of middle schools are considered to have provided a good environment for fostering creativity in teenagers. Even in terms of those students taking part in the national innovation competition, the figure in this regard is only 2.8 percent.
The survey also shows that the approval rating for "communities that often carry out scientific and technological activities including a teenagers’ club", has dropped from 34.7 percent in 2000 to 25.3 percent. Only 28.8 percent of middle school students give positive answers to the question, "whether relative scientific courses in the school have provided them with the opportunity of carrying out complete scientific and explorative study?". Only 36.8 percent of middle-school students said, "The school can provide the scientific and technological books they need."
Experts think that the current educational system, concept and reform of courses are lagging behind. In addition, the quality of educators and insufficient education investment all have seriously restricted the fostering of creativity of China’s teenagers.
(China.org.cn by Wang Qian, May 29, 2003)
