Examining the well-being and creativity of schoolchildren in France

Abstract

This article builds theoretically and empirically on the concepts of creativity and well-being within the schooling context, focusing on 855 preadolescents attending primary schools in France. Following and testing a line of argumentation delineated in educational research, creativity is defined as conceptually distinct from, but closely related to, student well-being. ‘Creativity’ is defined as a high level of adaptability and flexibility of thought, and ‘well-being’ as both the presence of positive affect and the absence of negative affect (hedonic components), as well as a high level of engagement and feelings of competence (eudaimonic components). Empirically, operationalizations of multi-dimensional concepts of creativity and well-being are tested and the relationships between these variables and pupils’ academic success are considered, taking into account the potential moderating effects of gender and parental involvement. These associations are found to be complex and vary considerably between components of well-being and creativity.