Building creative confidence through an interdisciplinary creativity course: Changes in creative challenges and creative personal identity

ABSTRACT

Creative confidence can be reflected in our identities and behaviours. The study explored perception changes in creative challenges and creative personal identity among first-year-in-college students before and after taking an interdisciplinary creativity course. A total of 764 students reported significantly higher levels of creative personal identity and heightened awareness of creative challenges at the end of the semester. Self-doubt was the most frequently reported internal barrier, and time and money were the most common external blocks. The results also demonstrated a strong relationship between creative personal identity and internal obstacles. The study concluded that students exposed to creative learning experiences become more motivated to exert time and effort in cultivating creative capacity with elevated levels of confidence.

KEYWORDS:

• creativity
• creative confidence
• creative personal identity
• challenges
• creative learning experiences

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Dr. Jeff Citty, the director of the Innovation Academy at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jae Hwa Lee

Jae Hwa Lee is an assistant professor of interior design at Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA. Her primary research engages in providing creative learning environments with pedagogical recommendations for building creative confidence across disciplines. She examines both self-awareness and performance in creative potential. Her scholarship also addresses the physical and social dimensions to support creative behaviours in the living and working environments.