Evaluation of a creativity intervention program for preschoolers

Creative practices during the preschool years of childhood appear to positively influence subsequent development. Taking a comprehensive approach, an intervention program was undertaken to develop creativity, taking into consideration the end result of the creative process as well as the process itself, and working with divergent as well as convergent thinking abilities. A quasi-experimental design was applied, taking pre and post-intervention measures in a group of 44 children ranging in age from 60 to 71 months-old. Experimental and control groups were assessed using the Test de Creatividad Infantil (Child Creativity Test) and the cognitive subtest of the Battelle Developmental Inventory. Significant time-group interaction effects occurred between the variables Interaction, Departure from the Model, and Making up Figures, and the entirety of the creativity test. This intervention demonstrates that gains can be made in divergent and convergent thinking in preschoolage children, as considerable changes were observed throughout the creative process, and in the quality of the final product of young participants' creative action. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.