How creativity is oppressed through traditional education

Abstract

Purpose Creativity has been positioned as a critical workplace competence, especially in societies in which conditions are rapidly changing. The fact that traditional educational processes oppress creativity is theoretically important. The purpose of the present paper is to theoretically map the process of teacher-directed learning and how the process oppresses creativity. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical paper in which a conclusion is drawn that there is a primary and secondary process of creativity oppression with traditional teacher-directed learning. Findings It is proposed in the present paper that the primary process of creativity oppression is that the pathway to a “high achieving pass” is for learners to make knowledge constructions that mirror that of the educator (rewarding non-creative learning outcomes). A secondary, silent and powerful mechanism of creativity oppression is where the learner does not “buy in” with the educator to accept their knowledge inculcation. The student here may indeed produce a creative learning outcome from the process, but they are likely to be judged for that work as a “low achieving pass” or a fail. Originality/value The paper seeks to identify the mechanism in which creativity oppression may accumulate over time until learner creativity is quashed.