In Pursuit of the ‘Holy Grail’: Staff Perceptions of Creativity and Innovation

Context and Objectives Debate about conceptual understandings and practical applications of creativity and innovation into learning and teaching practice is long standing. Our empirical research aimed to explore how these concepts were understood by staff working in UK higher education (HE) settings and the implications for informing quality improvements. Our goal was to enhance knowledge, skills and understandings within our own context, alongside offering suggestions for HE institutions elsewhere.

Methods We conducted thematic analysis of qualitative data collected via audio-recordings of workshop break-out groups at two learning and teaching conferences, and positioned our findings within the broader international literature on creativity and innovation.

Results We identified four interconnected themes: (i) how creativity and innovation are understood, (ii) problems with claiming work as creative or innovative, (iii) a practical skills deficit, and (iv) a nuanced relationship between their meanings and uses in different disciplinary contexts.

Discussion and Conclusions We have shown that creativity and innovation have been defined as both products and processes. These particular findings concur with the broader research on these topics across different international settings and disciplines. Activities must be implemented that facilitate discussion about the meaning of these concepts and the emotional impact of value judgements while building awareness, confidence and understandings of how and when students are being creative and innovative. Staff working in other HE institutions around the world may like to reflect on whether these recommendations have relevance in their own contexts, perhaps exploring more rigorously using our proposed methodology.