Exploring the development of adolescents’ scientific creativity among science fair winners through the lens of resilience

Scientific creativity plays a crucial role in formulating innovative solutions to complex scientific problems. This study explored the development and performance of scientific creativity among winners of a national science fair (NSF) through the perspective of resilience. The study involved 34 participants from grades 7 and 8 (comprising 15 boys and 19 girls) who were recognized with awards at the NSF. Through semi-structured interviews, this study identifies how resilience support contributes to students overcoming challenges and elevating their performance in scientific creativity. The major findings derived from quantitative content analysis are as follows: (1) Project-based learning can be an effective approach for developing resilience and scientific creativity. (2) A set of resilience support and risk factors to scientific creativity emerged, encompassing the influence of schools, teachers, peers, family, and personal traits in transforming challenges into resilience assets. (3) Considerable similarities in self-perceptions of scientific creativity and resilience processes during the NSF were noted between boys and girls. However, girls experienced more emotional struggles, yet maintained a more positive attitude in coping with negative emotions. This study offers comprehensive insights and recommends specific strategies for science education aimed at fortifying resilience and scientific creativity among adolescent students.