Creative thinking abilities and specific characteristics of the classroom environment of female high school students in Saudi Arabia

Al-Sulaiman (1998) tried to investigate the relationships between the creative thinking abilities of originality, fluency, and flexibility, and specific characteristics of classroom environment as perceived by tenth grade female students and their Arabic teachers. Such factors included the degree of emphasis on higher-/ lower-level thought processes, classroom climate, and classroom focus (teachers' vs. students' focus). A stratified sampling technique was used to represent most of the socio-economic groups. Participants were randomly chosen from 73 public high schools located in the four educational regions (northern, southern, eastern, and western) of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study sample consisted of 569 students (485 Saudi and 84 non-Saudi) from 18 classes randomly selected from 16 randomly selected schools. In addition, 17 secondary school Saudi teachers who specialized in teaching Arabic subjects were selected to participate in the study. The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, Figural Form B, and the Classroom Activities Questionnaire were selected to determine the students' creative thinking abilities and classroom environment. Inferential and descriptive statistics including the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Analysis of Variance were used to test the hypotheses generated from the research questions. The study findings indicate a significant relationship between students' perceptions of the lower-level thought process of translation and the ability of fluency. Classroom focus and absence of lecture were significantly related to the abilities of originality and flexibility. Classroom climate, specifically the factor of less teacher talk, was correlated positively with all three creative thinking abilities. Also, the study results showed statistically significant differences between teachers' and students' perceptions of their classroom environment. Teachers reported more emphasis on both the higher and lower level thought processes and a more positive climate than did the students. The demographic variables of family income, school location, and student nationality were significantly related to the students' creative thinking abilities. The researcher recommends that the Presidency of Girls Education make it possible for teachers to participate in long-term staff development programs on how creative thinking abilities develop and are nurtured in the classroom.

Al-Sulaiman, Norah Ibrahim. (1998). Creative thinking abilities and specific characteristics of the classroom environment of female high school students in Saudi Arabia. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A : Humanities-and- Social-Sciences. Vol. 59 (3-A).