The extent to which relationships and work practices within advertising agencies differ in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and degree of similarity to practices of artists were examined. Responses from Senior Creative Directors at 303 agencies suggested that work practices did not differ significantly but were limited in efforts…

A Saturday enrichment program for gifted black children in Soweto townships (South Africa) is described, including development of basic numeracy and literacy skills for elementary students; work in English, mathematics, and science/biology for high school students; creative activities and excursions; interracial activities; and cross-cultural…

This article considers the nature of creativity in industrial and business settings, describes the Manchester (England) Business School Creativity Unit, models creativity in systems terms, reviews action research of the 1970s, and identifies recent areas of research at Manchester including creativity blocks and the impact of creativity training in…

Explores how teachers at the Creative Arts Centre in Calgary (Alberta) create, maintain, and nurture aesthetic learning in their classrooms. The Centre, opened in 1997, has chosen to value the creating process, primary to the arts, in the school curriculum as a whole. During 1997 to 1998, 55 volunteers (primarily students and parents) explored…

Discusses the Montessori music curriculum, describing a series of lesson plans to present a comprehensive view of music in the classroom. Describes selecting simple melodies, integrating music into the day, using songs to initiate deeper studies in all parts of the prepared environment, teaching singing, and encouraging children to write their own…

Discusses the connections between Montessori pedagogy and Brian Swimme's ideas of a human authorship of a connection with the evolution of the universe and a need to reestablish a connection with the natural world. Describes the ways the art of 11- and 12-year-old students demonstrates an awareness of these issues and a connection with the natural…

This article describes implementation of a creativity curriculum, Ten Lessons in Creativity, with gifted and typical students in elementary and middle school settings. It discusses creativity instruction as a bridge between gifted and regular education, ways that creativity workshops affirm the highly creative child, creativity and self-esteem,…

Characterizes the telling and learning of political jokes as a powerful socializing tool for children to learn about the world. Maintains that this activity serves as a means of storing and transmitting social knowledge as well as information about the world of public affairs. Includes some representative examples. (MJP)

Nonlinear imagination-based thinking draws on intuition to allow insight into the unseen realms that govern everyday life. Largely abandoned by Western education in favor of materialist rationalism, this faculty is being promoted by a sustainability center in Montpelier (Vermont) that demonstrates methods of harmonizing thinking, learning, and…

Describes the development and growth of a program at a new York City public elementary school called Growing a Story: A Theatrical Exploration of Imagination for Literacy Enrichment. This arts educational program fosters students' pride of ownership, self-esteem, and interdependence through improvised creation and performance of original…

This article argues that any progress we have made in understanding creativity is being threatened by the increased emphasis on objective criteria of all aspects of learning. Indicators of creative potential are discussed, including originality and flexibility. Because creativity is often intrinsically motivated, the need for appropriate…

This two-part study examined aspects of family environments that are considered to be influential in the development of young children's creativity. Mothers of children ages 4 to 6 years were surveyed on their valuing of particular personality characteristics (The Ideal Child Checklist) and specific features of the home environment (The Creative…

This theme issue explores the development of memory and creativity in very young children. The first article, "The Guy Who Went Up the Steep Nicken: The Emergence of Story Telling during the First Three Years" (Susan Engel), describes the developmental stages of children's story telling. The reasons children tell stories and strategies for…

Does a drawing embody the form and focus of what the artist actually sees, or instead, is it only after seeing the finished drawing that the artist knows the true meaning of his or her visual experience? It is the knowledge of the visual experience that drives the representation of it. Knowledge of the visual experience is present in varying…

The paper examines the early development of a highly talented child artist in light of three theories of graphic development in children: (1) drawing development is a search for increasingly satisfying solutions to graphic problems that proceeds along a stage-like path; (2) gifted children aspiring to be artists carefully imitate their culture's…