I kept coming across the inclusion of ‘value’ in the definitions of creativity; a creative output would typically be described as ‘original’ and ‘of value’. As a composer I wondered what value could mean; to whom? A quick Google Scholar search led to the discovery of Weisberg’s 2015 paper that shares my query about the […]

Teachers’ perceptions of creativity are complex, but too often they are not complex enough. When asked what child creativity is, a great majority of teachers would probably define it with reference to at least one aspect of creative thinking. Most frequently, it would probably be originality (“non-schematic thinking,” “creates new solutions”) or fluency (“has lots […]

Creativity is largely considered today synonymous with success. It is the success enjoyed by creative people who are accomplished in both their personal and professional life; the success of innovative institutions capable of thriving in the complex and dynamic work environments of today; the success of countries that cultivate a healthy creative industries sector and […]

I’ve kept diving into Google Scholar to look at excellence, arts, culture; some recent finds see excellence on a par with perfection (Moreh, 1998) and genius (Ginsburgh and Weyers, 2014). Some explore cultural excellence but they’re referring to ancient civilisations (Bain, 2016) and their cultural artefacts, assuming the skill to create such work is technically […]

‘In general, insofar as art enters the domain of the art world, the institutional world of dealers, galleries, schools, granting agencies, collectors and so forth, it is subject to judgments of excellence, of which the relevance cannot be denied. According to many of those concerned, that is not what art is about; but it is […]

‘The time has come to reclaim the word ‘excellence’ from its historic, elitist undertones and to recognise that the very best art and culture is for everyone’ writes James Purnell in the 2008 report ‘Supporting Excellence in the Arts’. Brian McMaster, the author of the report, writes that ‘the desire and ability to innovate and […]

Provoked by the end of my last blog about quality and excellence I went back to the Arts Council England ‘Great art and culture for everyone’. Greatness distinctively pops up in the National Curriculum for Music where it’s expected pupils be taught to ‘appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music […]

‘This research promotes the idea that critical examination of arts learning experiences (not merely arts activities) is a truer test of excellence in arts education than the production of artistic products’, written in Qualities of Quality: Understanding Excellence in Arts Education (Project Zero). I was searching on Google Scholar ‘quality arts education’ and this was […]