Education institutions are said to give too little room for students to try out new ideas. Could this be the cause for the lack of creativity in our people resources?

(Human Capital Magazine: 50-06-08): Who isn’t familiar with the William Hewlett and David Packard duo? Stanford University alumni who established the information technology (IT) company known as Hewlett-Packard. Out of its research and study communities, Stanford has given birth to alumni with an incredibly high capacity for innovation. This pool of creativity and innovation found in this community is what has attracted industry champions such as Eastman Kodak and General Electric to set up operations in Sillicon Valley.

Aside from Hewlett-Packard, this community has produced IT warriors the likes of Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore who established Intel Corp. In addition to these folks, with a visionary ability just as magnificent is Eugene Kleiner who launched renowned capital venture company called Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

In Richard Florida’s work called The Rise of the Creative Class, he presents his theory that for communities to produce creative people requires technology, talent and tolerance (3T). Creative people are produced in an environment that allows them room to think creatively; of course, what education system is implemented also effects the outcome. In Indonesia, discussions about education always results in long debates, but never leads to a satisfactory solution. In particular when we relate education with the development of creative people resources, we should be ready to accept the reality that our nation’s education system has yet to attain the competence needed to carry out such a mission.

It is known that producing creative people resources is not a simple matter. “It takes time and needs an extensive process. It is no question that formal education plays a significant role in developing creative individuals. However, being a process, it needs to start in the formative years, at the elementary level. Followed by a refining stage at the higher education level to achieve upon graduation, creative, independent and mature individuals,” said Brand Consultant & Head of School, Marketing, Binus Business School, Amalia E. Maulana.

Commenting on the role education plays in producing creative people resources, Amalia is of the opinion that in the global economic era of our times, we should not limit the definition of creativity to the products of the fields of art and design; creativity encompasses a much wider and multi-dimensional area that includes artistic, business/entrepreneurship, as well as innovation and technology.

That’s exactly where the problem lies. In a discussion forum on education held by the Sampoerna Foundation SF this past April 30th, Director of Communications of Sampoerna Foundation, Mr. Sapto H. Sakti, pointed out that our education system falls short in encouraging students to think and act creatively. “Knowledge is given in chunks, without any cohesion from one chunk to the next, not using a holistic approach. The experience I received by sending my child to New Zealand for school is that the approach to education children is quite different,” according to him. The difference? Mr. Sakti shared that in Indonesia children are required to learn to read from a very early age. Contrastingly, overseas, children are taught from a very early age to think independently and be confident in expressing their thoughts. “A child below 10 years of age isn’t forced to possess read skills and attain proficiency in mathematics. Children are born with a defense mechanism. They need to be given trust, to be trained to be independent and creative, something I don’t see here in Indonesia,” he added.

Is creativity related to culture and the family environment? Mr. Sakti admits that western culture follows a liberal, while in eastern culture more emphasis is placed on family relations and looking out for one another. “In the west each individual is given the freedom to express themselves and so can be creative,” he said. According to Mr. Sakti, schools play an important role in producing quality people resources. They can help in empowering stakeholders and parents. “The parents’ experience can serve as additional input for the schools in the teaching and learning processes,” he said.

Voicing a similar opinion as Mr. Sakti is Sampoerna Foundation consultant Ahmad Rizali, who believes that the education system currently in place doesn’t let students be creative. “Creative children should not be stopped by inflexible school rules in their attempts to express themselves,” he said. One of the obstacles children face is the teacher. For instance, when a student upon being given the task of drawing and color, does so by following his or her imagination instead of following the teachers wishes, the student would receive a low mark. This is an example of creativity in schools,” Mr. Rizali, who is often called by his nickname, Nanang, said.

Mr. Nanang believes that a conducive environment will also encourage the creative expression of individuals. “A child with a creative skill of 10, if nurtured in a conducive environment will maintain this skill level until he or she is an adult. Whereas if he or she is raised in an environment that is not conducive, his or her creativity will diminish,” he said.

Ms. Amalia added that an individual who is creative, in its broadest sense, is someone who is not afraid to express their thoughts, is able to analyzed information from various perspectives, and capable of finding solutions. Creativity in the context of conduct and critical thinking, when combined with artistic talent – such as music, design, art and technology – will produce creative individuals that are able to produce unique and meaningful work. “This will move the creative industry in Indonesia forward,” she said.

Unlike Nanang who believes most schools are hampering the creativity of their students, Ms. Amalia has observed that many schools have implemented a curriculum which uses interactive teaching methods and emphasis creative problem solving, at the elementary, secondary as well as tertiary level. “More assignments are given in the form of group work, which demand a high level of creativity and independent thinking from students,”  she stated.

According to Ms. Amelia, placing more attention on extracurricular activities also serves to achieve a balance for students, so that they do not focus only on academics. Such is the case with more and more schools that involve their students in competitions, including in the areas of science (physics and mathematics olympiad), and management (strategic marketing) and languages (English debate contest). “This shows that there has been improvement in the last ten years,” she said.

At this time, she continues, the main priority that needs to be dealt with is to supply competent teachers or lecturers capable of applying new teaching methods. The problem, therefore, is still related to people resources. Teachers and lecturers who are a product of the old, inflexible and short-sighted education system, will need to be given a thorough understanding of the new education system. Regardless, teachers/lecturers play a major role in the development of creative people resources.

Ms. Amalia continues to point out that frequently a lack of agreement exists between foundations/school owners, the curriculum development team, and educators. Or, even when agreement has been reached, differences of opinion arise in the execution due to a different grasp of the needs of this abstract problem.

To overcome the inconsistencies between vision and execution, she suggests that schools or universities send their teachers/lecturers to people resources management courses, while also conducting school/university visits for  benchmarking processes. Furthermore, teachers should be allowed to be creative in their classes. Learning should not be confined to the classroom, but also enriched with visits to industrial areas, markets, and other locations that are relevant to students.

Ms. Amalia’s next advice on curriculum development emphasizes that each development team needs to understand, prior to beginning any development processes, what is meant by creative people resources. “The abstract nature of this issue can provide different perceptions for each individual, which will translate into lesson plans that are not of equal standard,” she said. Quoting Darren Rowse, Ms. Amalia explained that there are “9 highly effective attitudes to be a more creative person” which include: curiosity, viewing problems as interesting and normal, willing to face challenges, giving constructive criticism, optimism, not judgmental, viewing obstacles as a indicators in the improvement process, not giving up, as well as imaginative and flexible.

Behaving, thinking and acting in-line with the attitudes above, is impossible if instruction is given exclusively in one or two subjects. The process of developing an individual’s creativity and maturity can be acquired through an integrated approach involving all subjects, apportioned in sensible amounts based on the level of education, from elementary level to higher education. This will be reflected in the teaching method chosen, as well as in the assignments dealt inside and outside of class.

A concrete example of how a dynamic class environment is instrumental in developing creative people resources, which has been implemented by developed countries, includes classroom management practices such as using chairs whose position can be moved. “This will facilitate small group discussions in class,” Ms. Amalia said. Moreover, tasks are not always given on an individual basis, but in the form of group work. This can provide students room for personal development, learning to accept differences of opinion, as well as synergizing all matters that may arise during a project.

What is equally important, is that assessments of students performances should not be dominated by written tests in the form of multiple choice and short answers, rather also incorporate essays that demand descriptive and analytic skills. According to Ms. Amalia, written tests that are technical should not carry too much grading weight. It would be better if written tests be used for project assignments and literary work that encourages students to become mobile, seek information, attempt problem solving, be courageous in coming up with alternative solutions so as to acquire the ability to think strategically in their decision making.