Developing creative abilities in primary school students through project-based activities

The relevance of this study stems from the need to develop key creative competencies in primary school students in the modern school environment, which requires empirically substantiated methodological approaches and practical recommendations for organizing project-based activities in grades 1–4. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a specially designed project-based curriculum aimed at developing divergent thinking, originality of ideas, productive creative solutions, and motivation for creative activity in primary school students.

Materials and Methods. The study is conducted using a quasi-experimental design with the participation of 124 students from three urban elementary schools (aged 7–10 years): the experimental group (EG, n = 64) completed a course of systemic project-based interventions, and the control group (CG, n = 60) studied according to the traditional program with the episodic use of project tasks. Descriptive statistics, t-criteria, and ANCOVA with pre-test values control are used for statistical analysis; the significance level was set at p < 0.05.

Results and Discussion. In the experimental group, a significant increase in divergent thinking indicators is noted: the average total score increased from M = 14.2 (SD = 3.1) to M = 17.3 (SD = 3.5), which is an increase of 3.1 points (≈ 21.8 %). In the control group, the increase is 0.7 points (≈ 5.0 %). Comparison of the gains revealed a statistically significant difference (t(122) = 4.12, p < 0.001). On the creative productivity scale, the average score in the EG increased from 3.1 to 4.0 (Δ = 0.9, ≈ 29.0 %), while in the CG it increased from 3.0 to 3.2 (Δ = 0.2, ≈6.7 %); this difference is also statistically significant (t(122) = 3.86, p < 0.001). ANCOVA, controlling for pretest values, confirmed a significant effect of the intervention on divergent thinking (F(1,119) = 10.7, p = 0.0012, partial η² = 0.083) and on other dependent variables.

Conclusion. Systematic project-based learning, tailored to the age-appropriate needs of primary school students and supported by teachers, is an effective tool for developing creativity: it enhances divergent thinking, project originality, the productivity of creative solutions, and student motivation.