Understanding Imaginative Thinking During Childhood: Sociocultural Conceptions of Creativity and Imaginative Thought

Early Childhood Educ J (2008) 36:179185 DOI 10.1007/s10643-008-0261-4

Understanding Imaginative Thinking During Childhood: Sociocultural Conceptions of Creativity and Imaginative Thought

Angela Eckhoff Jennifer Urbach

Published online: 10 June 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008

Abstract Understanding imagination as both a cognitive and affective endeavor is crucial in order for educators to promote creative and imaginative thinking in informal and formal learning environments. It is the primary aim of this paper to develop the theoretical discussion of Vygotskys writings on young childrens imaginative abilities launched by Gajdamaschko (Teach Educ 16(1):1322, 2005) and Lindqvist (Res J 15(2&3):245251, 2003). This paper illustrates Vygotskys writings on the cognitive processes involved in childrens imagination and creativity and concludes with a discussion focused on the components of an educational environment that can either support or stie childrens imaginative abilities. It is through this continuing discussion that, as researchers, we hope to extend and challenge current conceptions of the role of imaginative thinking in early education.

Keywords Imagination Creativity Visual arts

Early literacy

But what if the imagination is itself the very font of thought? What if the imagination is what permits thought to work by providing it with the images and metaphors that give it direction? What if the imagination is primarily not mere fancy or imitation, but is

itself thoughts direction? Presumably our educational foci would then be very different (Sutton-Smith 1988, p. 7).

What if? The question itself opens up numerous possibilities for educators. What if we viewed imaginative thought and creativity as fundamental to cognition? What if discussions of school reform focused on infusing imaginative thinking into the curriculum instead of covering the content and teaching to the test? In this paper, we assert that imagination is critical to education. In order to successfully point out the need for, and importance of, imagination in education, it is essential to integrate conceptions of imagination into existing knowledge of child development and cognition. It is a major tenet of this paper that the process of integrating imaginative and creative thinking into childrens educational experiences allows for a focus on a prospective (educating for the future and problems not yet known) rather than a retrospective view of education (focus on mastering solutions to problems already known) (Kozulin 1993; Lindqvist 2003). In...