Engineering Creativity: Toward an Understanding of the Relationship between Perceptions of Creativity in Engineering Design and Creative Performance

Few studies have focused on perceptions of engineering students with respect to the importance of creativity in engineering design. Previous researchers have tended to focus on perceptions concerning the degree to which creative thinking is emphasized in the classroom, rather than on whether students value creativity as an important part of the engineering design process. Moreover, the relationship between students' perceptions of the importance of creative thinking in engineering design and their creative performance has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to identify engineering students' perceptions of creativity during the engineering design process and compare perceptions of students who scored at the extreme ends on a creativity test called the Creative Engineering Design Assessment (CEDA). Of the 42 students that took the CEDA, eight students scored at the extreme ends and were subsequently interviewed. The perceptions that were investigated reflected the two primary influences on a students' motivation to be creative as posited by the expectancy-value theory, namely engineering students' perceptions of the importance of creativity during engineering design and their perceptions of their own ability to be creative in engineering design. The findings of this study support predictions made by applying the expectancy-value theory, which holds that students who value creativity in engineering design and confidently believe they have the ability to be creative are more likely to be creative in various engineering design scenarios.