Are creativity teachers creative? A 6-year qualitative follow-up

Psycho-pedagogy of Creativity, a continual five-year undergraduate and graduate course of studies, was established in 1997, in Poland, at the Warsaw Academy of Special Education. The main goal of this specialization is to educate specialists who are well-prepared to develop children's creativity and who know how to identify and solve educational problems. But are the graduates fulfilling their potential? Are they self-actualizing in real life? These are the main questions of the presented study. Six years after the first graduation of educators for creativity, I checked how they use their creative skills in everyday life. Qualitative methods such as biographical sketches and narrations ware used in the research. Results show high diversity of lifestyles and vocational activities among creative adults and significant similarities between them. Their common characteristics are high life approval, balance between work and family, and seeking challenges. This study proves the effectiveness of long-term education of and for creativity. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved