Ready or not the possible is here!

Abstract

Embracing the possible can be an exciting yet challenging experience. Having imagination and creativity at its core, engaging with the possible implies, among other things, opening ourselves to diverse perspectives, often leading us to face the unknown and take risks. In this sense, exploring the possible can pose a significant opportunity to anticipate complex scenarios, actively developing one’s creativity while exercising individual and collective self-regulation mechanisms such as those that comprise the creative self. Given this developmental potential, it appears logical to try to embed such experiences into the educational realm, thereby diversifying students' developmental trajectories and fostering their sociopsychological complexity.

Moreover, in an age marked by social, cultural, economic, environmental and human challenges, designing educational contexts that intentionally explore the possible is critical to constructing a future that is capable of responding to the Anthropocene. However, few educational strategies and pedagogies have proven to be effective in achieving such goals, emphasizing the need to develop approaches that can materialize theoretical advances that have recently emerged within the field of the Possible studies.

An extant review of the current literature does not reveal studies that capture the relationship between the creative self [namely the creative personal identity (CPI) and creative self-efficacy (CSE)], the creative mindset and the possible. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by gaining an understanding of how young people perceive their own engagement with creativity and the possible. The current study adopts a quantitative approach whereby a sample of students in secondary school aged between 13-15 will take the Short Scale of the Creative Self (Karwowski, 2011), the Creative Mindset Scale, (Karwowski, 2014) and the Scale of the Possible (Glaveanu et al., 2023) to explore if significant correlations emerge. In particular, it will be worth nothing if levels of creative-self development (i. e. CSE and CPI) and a creative mindset are associated with an increased ability to envision and think about the possible.

The preliminary findings of the study will be discussed, while potential implications for pedagogical practices and strategies will be explored in the hope to inspire further research and pedagogical initiatives that may enhance a worldview of the possible in young learners.