A Lithuanian case of fostering creativity within academia: students' perceptions

Abstract

Creativity has been increasingly researched in higher education. Until recently, however, empirical studies exploring creativity and creative writing simultaneously conducted from the students’ perspective are rare. The present study aims to analyse undergraduate students’ perceptions of the course of Modern English and Creative Writing and its impact on their creativity. The data were collected through feedback questionnaires and analysed using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The general conclusion of this study is that the course encouraged most students’ creativity and fostered their creative writing skills. Prominent among the findings was the perception that creative writing practice was the most valuable component of the course, followed by new knowledge gained during the course and an increased awareness of others and self. It was also established that the course changed some students’ general understanding of creativity and raised their awareness of creative writing. On the other hand, the results also imply that to some students the course was a challenge.