Nurturing teachers’ creativity: Exploring leadership roles and constraints

Abstract

Creativity research suggests the profound effect of leadership on the social environment that influences creativity within organisations. Despite numerous studies that claimed a role for leadership in nurturing creativity, the effects of instructional and innovative leadership on creativity development leading to organisational growth have remained largely overlooked. Therefore, this study examines the influence of leadership on teachers’ creativity. Data were collected from 369 teachers serving in secondary schools in Malaysia. In addition, three principals were also interviewed to understand how school leadership strategies can enhance teachers’ creativity within the school context. In addition, their challenges in supporting teachers’ creativity and innovation were explored. Results indicate that they mostly preferred instructional leadership rather than innovative leadership which aimed to influence their creativity. Findings from the structural model have confirmed that instructional leadership was the most preferred leadership practice compared to innovative leadership when enhancing teacher creativity. In exploring support for creativity, principals mainly used incentive and informal support and encouragement with teachers. In understanding principals’ constraints, senior teachers who are reluctant to change and principals’ heavy workloads and shortage of time are mentioned as challenges that principals need to face while supporting teachers’ creativity in schools. This study recommends that school leaders must possess sufficient knowledge and skill to support teachers’ creativity which requires that school leaders are open to and supportive of creative activities. The results also indicate that school leaders need to understand teachers’ requirements as providers of creative teaching and learning.