Creativity Development and Disorder Prevention in Behaviour

BOOK REVIEW
CREATIVITY DEVELOPMENT AND PREVENTION BEHAVIOURAL DISORDERS


The manuscript entitled ‘CREATIVITY DEVELOPMENT AND PREVENTION OF BEHAVIOURAL DISORDER’ by Doris Stevanović and Ph.D. Lejle Kuralić-Čišić, deals with the issue of creativity in children as a protective factor in the prevention of behavioural disorders. Given that in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and surrounding regions, there is little research and writing about this topic therefore this manuscript is a valuable educational read about theoretical considerations, it illuminates the roles of creative opinions and processes for the development of children’s socialisation in modern Bosnian society.

The chapters are logically arranged and sequenced in three parts. First, it explains and defines children’s creativity in detail. Second, it analyzes the lack of developed skills for creative action as a risk factor, by describing certain behavioural disorders in children which educators need to react to. Third it emphasises methods and techniques for encouraging children’s creativity.

The book clearly highlights the topic of the issue, by satisfying all the criteria of professional and scientific writing, while giving the reader an insight into the new, very simple and picturesque way with scientific facts about approaches to education. Children growing up in new social trends assist with understanding an altered perspective of learning, norms of behaviour and the value of others.

The content in the book indicates its value because it will certainly contribute to the development of theory and practice in the fields of educational sciences and child protection. The authors also give recommendations that can be significant for parents, teachers, and other actors in the wider community; to improve approaches towards children as a category that requires special attention.

I would like to point out one of the mentioned topics, which is significant and illustrates the point that the authors wanted to put across. ‘Education is not the adoption of facts, but the encouragement of the child’s natural need to learn by relying on their inner self-motivation. The goal is to nurture a child’s natural desire for learning, a child’s individuality, and interest in different areas, including turning learning into a game.’
The special value is reflected in the section for readers in English, which will significantly expand on the use of areas outside the Bosnian Herzegovinian speaking area.

Manuscript entitled “CREATIVITY DEVELOPMENT AND PREVENTION BEHAVIOURAL DISORDER” by Doris Stevanović and Ph.D. Lejla Kuralić-Čišić, rate it as a valuable work that will certainly serve as an educational read for advancing knowledge for theorists and practitioners in the education system and education of children. Bearing in mind how interesting and topical the subject is I recommend printing this book.

Tuzla, March 22, 201 Meliha Bijedić, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Ph. D. Assistant professor Ranko Kovačević, van prof. Reviewer



FOREWORD


In the contents of the study, the forms, and methods of work for development of children’s creativity from preschool to school age is a special aspect of the methods of detection, prevention, and treatment of behavioural disorders in preschool children.
Programmes whose effectiveness has been scientifically confirmed are also offered, and are intended for working with preschool children. Parts of the research and texts of the late prof. Dr. Marko Stevanović, taken from his many years of work for creativity, are included, so that educators can easily direct learning towards creativity in one place, and also compare their own work with that of colleagues and jointly develop strategies using creative models through the use of theoretical and workshop procedures.

The content of the book is structured from several sub-modules, each of which provides a specific way of creative discovery and expression and strategies in education for timely prevention of disorders in the behaviour of children. The models are openly expressed, so the educator/teacher may amend them to the needs of the children and the outcome of their application. The contents can be an incentive to develop inspiration by expressing new ideas, to revive the educational process in all its aspects for the preschool curriculum and thus achieve individual maximum benefit. Child, creativity, and prevention of behavioural disorders should be viewed as part of the combined efforts of the education work of parents, teachers, kindergartens and schools as well as institutions. Content for all participants in partnerships enables the discovery of implicit ideas, by means of collaborative relationships forming different and new relationships, education anticipating new ideas, common principles, and relationships (family, child, kindergarten and school).

Educators/teachers will play a specific role in building creative attitudes which will elevate the contents and models to the level of learning creativity for creativity’s sake, which will also enable the educators to recognise externalised and internalised problems, so that children and young people can be prepared to use futurology classes. That type of preparation will lead to original and pluralistic ideas and solutions, as well as fostering openness to their transparent application and will mark the main paradigms required for the formation of mentally healthy and creative personalities. Recent conclusions reached in national education at preschool level are also supporting efforts being made to include children from more vulnerable social groups. The goal is the integration of children of lower socio-economic status into institutional frameworks and culture.



INTRODUCTION


The integration of world upbringing and education takes place under the influence of two basic groups of assumptions: the first is the group integrative character (internationalisation of the world economy, globalisation for means of communication, and strengthening the role world communities play in regulating all spheres of life). Another group emerging directly in the field of education (new methodologies and pedagogical technologies, which is based on the use of computer networks, convergence of educational content and their standards, etc.). In doing so, the first group provides stimulation integration processes ‘from above’, and the third group activates them from the ‘Bottom up’. Although each of the two levels requires making your own approach in their implementation, the strategy must be on uniting their potentials.

Particular importance is given to research that deals with problems of general and special features of educational institutions, the evaluation of the efficiency of educational processes and the requirements for different levels of education. One of the central talking points in such research is the issue of the mission of kindergartens and schools in societies of the future. The mission concept of a modern kindergarten is that it should be created ‘from above’ and be the result of everyone’s cooperation; including stakeholders, (i.e., not only regarding the administration and teaching and educational collectives), students, parents, social organisations and the business world. To become the centre of a community (micro-area), the kindergarten and the school must become creative communities wherein the contribution of each participant in the common task is recognised. The relationship between children and parents, according to the educational process, will not be based on consumer principles, but rather on the principles of constructiveness and cooperation. Elaboration of the kindergarten and schools concepts reflected by their general mission, should foster children’s success and development, as elaboration of curricula, and requirements regarding teaching hours and the evaluation of results is a long-term and continuous process.

New demands of life and considering the new generation of educators and teachers being brought into play, specific intellectual, creative incentives need a variety of approaches and solutions. Individuals should participate an enormous impact and school programmes, but they also need to anticipate and suggest new content, so that more up to date preschool and school systems can be instituted by means of a large number of educational programmes. Students and parents will have a big impact on education policy, but will also have to institute programme which they will have to finance themselves. Kindergartens and schools will no longer be closed off from the rest of society, but will have to become better organised, programmatic and informational, with a personnel essence that connects with other institutions in their environment.

Whatever creative potential children had in kindergarten or school, where they were closed off from the world the need for newer, more creative methods will cause the depletion of an institutions own resources. That is exactly why, there are currently scientific-teaching centres that run pilot experimental programmes in kindergartens whereby the contents, forms and methods of creative work are formed. Cooperation of theorists-researchers and teacher-practitioners, cooperation between educators and teachers and their cooperation with colleagues from other countries, can give additional impetus to the development of the educational system which will contribute further integration into the world educational space.

Numerous conferences and seminars at domestic and international levels consider a wide range of education issues with an eye on the future. Access to education is gradually becoming a dynamic model of education aimed at the future. Multicultural aspects of contemporary education will be discussed, and concrete educational standards need to be set as a basis for curriculum development, programmes and strategies of modern education by highlighting issues which are relevant for the areas of ​​preschool, school and higher education. It is an educational policy focused on the development of creative quality kindergartens, schools, educational and content enrichment ‘from school’ to ‘schools of active learning’. Contemporary views on quality learning are aimed at exploring learning and researching such issues, and most researchers are focusing on improvement, as shown below:

- managing the process of reforming kindergartens, schools, and faculties,
- models of education for the future,
- ways to humanise education,
- inclusion in the international educational space,
- kindergarten and school mission, creative kindergartens and school criteria,
- national policy and modern legislative processes,
- preventive methods and ways of solving ethnic, religious, language and other problems,
- the specificity of the approach to creative global education and comparison with approaches in other countries,
- general character of the student as a planned result,
- alternative approaches to creating creative teaching plans,
- basics of building a creative, globally oriented curriculum by subjects,
- principles of creating a methodology of a creative global clock,
- application of methods and development of critical thinking in children and students,
- methodical knowledge about a pleasant psychological climate for effective cooperation between children, educators, students, and teachers,
- characteristics of teachers in the global school, and
- work of experimental schools, etc.

There is significant concern about the growing presence of emotional problems and behavioural disorders in children.
Focusing and planning adequate individual and individualised programmes for all children is crucial. The study of undesirable forms of behaviour in early childhood is very important because of the prevalence of aggressive behaviour, by breaking the rules and interfering with the overall functioning of children. Individual children have to make a system for themselves; assisted by the educator/teacher. Teachers/educators have to deal with all the peculiarities and individual needs of children. Problems of behaviour in early childhood can accumulate and cause numerous problems later on in childhood, as well as in adulthood (Yodeler, 2014).

Yodeler spoke about externalised problems, such as various forms of aggression, which tend to gradually decrease during early childhood, but there are many cases where children retain problematic behaviours. He spoke about the fact that it has become increasingly common in recent decades to see an increase in behavioural disorders in children and young people, in our country and around the world. Behavioural disorders have negative consequences and are harmful to children as well as in the wider environment, which deviates from the norms of the usual behaviours for that age, gender, situation, and environment. They can be present on a personal level and in a social environment where they do require professional help. Understanding of disorders in the behaviour of children and young people have made great strides in the last hundred and fifty years.

Behavioural disorders have acquired the status of the problem that deserves special attention from scientists and practitioners, and various forms of behavioural disorders have been identified. A clear distinction is made between behavioural disorders and other phenomena; unlike previously, when they were classified in the same group. A wide network of different institutions and professionals has been developed to investigate orientations that are working on the prevention and treatment of children and youth with behavioural disorders, etc. (Žunić-Pavlović, Popović-Ditić, Pavlović, 2010). A four-year longitudinal study examined children’s problematic behaviours and emotional problems from preschool to fourth year primary school grade. Beyer, Poster, Muller and Furnish (2012) found that children’s problematic behaviours not only appeared individually but also tended to combine with other problems. That is why it is important that educators and teams in kindergartens and schools receive a significant boost in their creative work; particularly when it is involved with access, development and encouragement of children’s creativity, and continued all the way to diagnosis, prevention and treatment of behavioural disorders.