Creativity as a resource for educational management: barriers and facilitators across professional groups

A study examining creativity levels across different professional groups within an educational context found that students exhibited the highest overall creativity, followed by university faculty, with managers demonstrating the lowest levels. The research assessed creativity indicators such as flexibility, originality, curiosity, and risk-taking.

Why it matters

This finding indicates potential systemic challenges in fostering or maintaining creativity as individuals progress through professional development stages, particularly into management roles. It suggests a need for strategic initiatives to cultivate and sustain creative capacities within professional workforces, especially in leadership positions, to enhance adaptive performance in dynamic environments.

Key insights

• Creativity is identified as a crucial psychological resource for adaptive performance and professional growth.
• Students demonstrated the highest overall creativity levels among the groups studied.
• University faculty showed higher creativity levels compared to managers.
• Managers exhibited the lowest overall creativity levels.
• Creativity indicators assessed included flexibility, originality, curiosity, and risk-taking.

Source

Frontiers in Education — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1719939