توسعه شایستگی فرهنگی و خلاقیت برای کودکان

An intervention study examined the effectiveness of the Creativity Compass program, which aimed to develop intercultural competences and creativity in children. One hundred and twenty-two children aged 8–12 years old took part in the intervention. The results indicated that the program was highly effective in stimulating creative abilities and moderately effective in developing intercultural skills. These results provide evidence that effective stimulation and development of both creative abilities and intercultural skills is possible and may provide a way of preparing children for life in a globalized and multicultural world.

Both intercultural competence and creativity are crucial in the contemporary world. Multicultural communities exist across the world due to global growth in immigration, emigration and migration of populations (Berry, 1990). It is therefore important to enhance the skills of teachers and educators in these areas so they can instill an attitude of respect and sensitivity in children and develop their understanding of cultural diversity (Ponciano & Shabazian, 2012). There is also a need for educational programs that help teachers to teach difficult issues related to cultural diversity, multiculturalism and anti-discrimination (Derman-Sparks & Ramsey, 2006). Contact with people from other cultures makes it possible to develop outside-the-box behaviors and break habits which are inhibiting creativity (Maddux, Leung, Chiu, & Galinsky, 2009). Intercultural and multicultural experiences may also play a role in developing personality traits that are important for creativity. However although there is a need for interventions to promote cultural sensitivity and creativity, only few programs which aim to develop these skills in children exist (Subramaniam et al., 2009). This article addresses this gap, presenting an investigation of the effectiveness of a new program called Creativity Compass, which aims jointly to develop children's cultural sensitivity and knowledge, as well as creativity. The program's effectiveness in children between 8 and 12 years old is examined. To date there have been few studies devoted to studying cultural competences and creativity in children (DoBroka, 2012 and Orly and Maureen, 2008) so the results presented below may contribute to our understanding of the effectiveness of such educational interventions.