Recent evidence suggests that constraints can facilitate creative thinking rather than hinder it. This research tested how individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) affect the creativity of ideas generated under conditions of low and high constraint. Participants generated short sentences with either low or high constraints placed on…

This article discusses the role of play and imagination in three urban settings: an ELA classroom, a community organization grounded in civic participation, and a digital learning lab in a library setting. We draw on sociocultural theories of imagination to show that all of the affordances and constraints of the settings contribute to what could…

Compared with other age groups, the literacy practices and creative outputs of older adults (50+ years) have been seldom researched. Generally, research about older adults has tended to focus on decline and agential passivity, rather than potentiality. In this article, we report on a small ethnographic study of older Australians who were part of a…

The number of students with learning disabilities in post-secondary institutions has grown substantially, and those with dyslexia compile the largest subgroup. This study explores the utility conceptualization of dyslexia by analyzing the subjective experiences of 30 students from two 2-year institutions. Interviews confirmed that these students…

In some narratives one world is embedded within the main world of the story, which we refer to as the base world, and elements from one world can cross over into the other. This study explored the conditions in which readers perceive character crossover as being likely to occur. Participants read stories that set up the potential for a character…

Globalisation has brought about great social and economic impact, as well as great challenges. Major developments have taken place in the mobility of capital and, to a lesser extent, of goods; not so in the mobility of people seeking asylum due to persecution and war. This article approaches the phenomenon of migration, particularly of refugees,…

Creativity is the critical point to developing innovative and effective citizens and children in learning social studies. The purpose of this study is to explore how creativity is promoted in social studies classrooms for young children and to research teachers' opinions and interpretations of creativity in Turkish elementary schools. The study…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore in-service teachers' first experiences with imaginary dialogues -- a form of mathematical writing where students are introduced to a written and unfinished dialogue between two imaginary persons discussing a mathematical problem. Students are supposed to continue working with the problem and to…

This paper contributes to a growing body of literature on widening university participation and brings a focus on the classed and embodied nature of young people's imagination to existing discussions. We interviewed 250 young people living in disadvantaged communities across five Australian states who had experienced disengagement from compulsory…

"We know that progress depends on discovery, inventions, creativity and design, but we have simply supposed that it happens anyway," de Bono (1999 p. 43). Technology education is ostensibly a foundation for future designers and creative thinking. However evidence of good design or creative thinking in outcomes displayed in school…