Creativity in Hong Kong: Current contexts and issues

The development of creativity is one of three "priority generic skills" in Hong Kong's educational reforms. Despite these reforms dating from 2000, Hong Kong's students are often criticised in the media for their lack of creativity. On the other hand, the research that examines students' creativity is more equivocal with some authors claiming that creativity has been enhanced while others that creativity has diminished. In examining this research more closely, we find that there is a general lack of understanding between the aims of creativity development, the way that creativity is defined, and the instruments used to assess creativity. We argue that conceptions of creativity amongst the Hong Kong Chinese differ from Western conceptions of creativity. In particular, we conclude that attempts to measure the development of creativity are hampered by instruments that do not reflect Chinese conceptions of creativity. As a way forward, we suggest that a socio-cultural perspective may be a better way to study creativity in the Hong Kong context.