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Article
Examining Variations in Divergent Thinking Within Norwegian and Canadian Communities
Sage Open (2015)
  • Catharine Dishke Hondzel, Western University
  • Marte Sørebø Gulliksen
Abstract

Creativity and divergent thinking are components of learning in childhood that often go unmeasured in favor of standardized subject assessments. To better understand the ways in which creativity develops and is related to environmental and cross-cultural factors, this study reports on the scores obtained by 8-year-old students living in differently sized communities in Norway and Canada measured using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Results of multivariate analyses indicate statistically significant differences between Norwegian and Canadian children on several Torrance Test subscales as well as surprising relationships between the size of the community in which the children lived and the scores they obtained. Results and discussion are framed in reference to the ways in which culture and communities potentially shape the development of divergent thinking skills and open up questions about the ways in which social environments can influence the development of creativity in childhood.

Keywords
  • Creativity,
  • culture,
  • Canada,
  • Norway,
  • TTCT
Publication Date
Fall October 12, 2015
Publisher Statement
© The Author(s) 2015 This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Citation Information
Catharine Dishke Hondzel and Marte Sørebø Gulliksen. "Examining Variations in Divergent Thinking Within Norwegian and Canadian Communities" Sage Open (2015)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/dishkehondzel/10/