Title: Boredom as a basis for fostering creativity in higher education: A call for pedagogical bravery

ABSTRACT

Boredom has a bad reputation in higher education, as many negative outcomes are associated with this experience. But should boredom be avoided at all costs? Could boredom be guided towards more appropriate, even desirable outcomes – such as creativity? Through making use of concept analyses to investigate current conceptualisations of boredom and creativity, this study investigated whether boredom and creativity may be linked conceptually. Conceptual overlaps were identified on a number of levels, and boredom’s position in fostering creativity was situated. The findings herein suggest that investigating ways to develop boredom towards appropriate ends should receive greater attention in higher education research. Through a combination of individual attributes, an enabling educational environment and some pedagogical bravery in purposefully introducing boredom into the in-person classroom context, boredom may yet prove useful for fostering creativity within the higher education context.

KEYWORDS:

• State boredom
• creativity
• concept analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors have no funding to report.

Notes on contributors

Ané Craven

Ané Craven is a former Master’s student at the Centre for Adult and Higher Education at Stellenbosch University. She is currently employed in a student development and support environment at the Tshwane University of South Africa. Ané is a psychology professional, specialising in psychological assessments. She uses her professional qualification as a psychometrist in combination with her training in higher education, to support students at Tshwane University of Technology in a variety of support/developmental programmes. She is currently employed in a student development and support environment at the Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa.

Liezel Frick

Liezel Frick is a professor in the Department of Curriculum Studies and the director of the Centre for Higher and Adult Education (CHAE). Her research and collaborative work enables her to contribute to early career researcher development initiatives across the African continent as part of the CHAE short course offering, SU’s Emerging Scholars programme, and the African Doctoral Supervisor online short course hosted by Crest. Her current responsibilities include leading a joint doctoral programme and co-ordinating an MPhil programme in Higher Education Studies.