The presentation was in three parts. The first offered a brief introduction to the study of creativity as viewed
from psychology, business and education. What is “creativity”? How is creativity encouraged?
Why is it important to education? Is creativity important to foreign language education?
The second part looked at how “creativity” is seen across cultures, and how it has been viewed over time
and in different places. In particular, it showed how the modern popular western view of creativity
has taken on a highly specific political form, and how it is a potential source of serious bias
when considering creativity in East Asia. The final part considered how the idea of creativity
has developed and become increasingly important in Japanese education policy from
the Meiji era until the present day. It considered current policy developments and
the potential these developments offer for language educators to promote
creativity in their
teaching and in their institutions.