Knowledge Resource · Open access
Research Summary: The role of design thinking in enhancing students’ creative thinking: a narrative review
- Original authors
- Attribution requires verification
- Original source
- Frontiers in Education
- Summary & Analysis prepared by
- Aziz Shuaib Ausi
- Resource type
- Research Summary / Knowledge Resource
- Resource published on AZIZ OS
- 26 September 2026
- Reading time
- 1 min
- Publication type
- Knowledge Resource
- Availability
- Open access
About this Summary & Analysis
AZIZ OS provides independently prepared summaries and analytical interpretations of externally published research and knowledge sources. The underlying works remain attributable to their original authors and rights holders. This resource is intended to improve accessibility and understanding and does not replace the original publication.
A narrative review of research published between 2015 and early 2026 indicates that Design Thinking (DT) is a promising human-centered, iterative approach for fostering creative thinking in students across diverse educational settings. The study, which analyzed 58 peer-reviewed publications, suggests DT's effectiveness in cultivating creativity through stages such as empathy, problem framing, ideation, prototyping, and testing, addressing a widely acknowledged challenge in education regarding the cultivation and assessment of creative skills.
Why it matters
The consistent struggle of educational systems to foster and evaluate creative thinking presents a significant systemic challenge. Identifying Design Thinking as a viable approach offers a potential solution to enhance a critically valued skill, impacting future workforce readiness and innovation capacity across all sectors. This method could standardize and improve pedagogical practices aimed at developing creative problem-solvers.
Key insights
- Creative thinking is broadly recognized as a priority in educational contexts.
- Educational institutions face persistent challenges in consistently cultivating and assessing creative thinking.
- Design Thinking (DT) is identified as a human-centered, iterative methodology potentially capable of supporting creative development.
- DT's process involves distinct stages: empathy, problem framing, ideation, prototyping, and testing.
- A narrative review synthesized peer-reviewed research on DT and student creative thinking across K-12, higher education, STEM, arts/design, humanities, and teacher education.
- The review analyzed 58 publications from 2015 to early 2026, making it one of the first cross-domain reviews focused on creative-thinking outcomes related to DT.
Source
Frontiers in Education — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1903668
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- Verification ID
- ASA-EXE-2026-00898
- Version
- v1.0 · r0
- Issued
- 26 September 2026
- Resource prepared by
- Aziz Shuaib Ausi
- Resource status
- Research Summary / Knowledge Resource
- Underlying work
- The role of design thinking in enhancing students’ creative thinking: a narrative review
- Original authors
- Attribution requires verification
- Original source
- Frontiers in Education
- Provenance status
- Attribution requires verification
- Rights
- Underlying publication rights remain with the respective copyright holder(s). Refer to the original source for authoritative publication and licensing information.
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