The relationship of creative thinking ability, classroom management skill, and career level status of elementary school teachers

Author

Gary L. Riggins

Date of Award

5-1989

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Educational Psychology

Major Professor

William A. Poppen

Abstract

The classroom teacher's day-to-day task of presiding over a countless number of interactions demands a series of interventions that seem to require a measure of creativity. This investigation examined the relationship of teachers' creative thinking abilities with their perceived skills in "managing" the classroom. A follow-up study was completed on the original participants to assess their Tennessee Career Level status relative to both their creative thinking scores and perceived classroom management skill. Fifty elementary classroom teachers from five schools rated their colleagues in classroom management skill on a one to five scale, and these participants then completed the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Verbal Form A). Follow-up data on 39 of the original participants were obtained five years later to assess their Career Ladder status. The management ranking data were used to divide the teachers at the median to form groups of high and low classroom managers. These data were also regressed on the subtests of the TTCT and the attained Career Level status. Groups of high and low creative teachers, classroom managers, and 111 various Career Ladder levels were parcelled out to examine the profiles of these teacher groups. A bivariate regression analysis of the classroom management scores for all participants and their corresponding TTCT scores revealed a significant correlation. A t test of the high and low management groups and their respective TTCT scores revealed a statistically significant relationship found between the Career Level achieved and either the measures of creative thinking or peer perception of competence as a classroom manager, although teachers at the extremes of the Career Ladder differed markedly in creative thinking ability, especially on the Flexibility subtest of the TTCT.

Recommended Citation

Riggins, Gary L., "The relationship of creative thinking ability, classroom management skill, and career level status of elementary school teachers. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1989.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/11747