Promoting creativity in early childhood education

• Drama activities enable children to use creative thinking. These activities develop their way of thinking by causing children to use improvisation (TC3). • Drama activities may be conducted by planning improvised activities on a certain topic (TC7). Theme 4. Creativity in the program • The Opinions of Preschool Teachers on the Fourth Theme When teachers were asked their opinion on the elements in the preschool educational pro- gram that supported the creativity of children, they stated that on the whole, the program enabled children to reflect their individual traits. They have also reported that the flexibility of the program enables them to restructure the program according to the individual differ- ences of children, and that this offers them a chance to support their creativity. It may be said that teachers consider the preschool educational program as one that supports the chil- dren’s feeling of discovery and self-awareness. The teachers’ opinions on the fourth theme are presented below: • It is child-centred. Children experience meaningful hands-on learning instead of rote learn- ing. In this way, creativity is always active. The flexible program enables necessary changes in the educational process depending on daily and momentary changes that may arise. As individualism is the most prominent element, the program is created by taking individual differences into consideration as appropriate to the needs of the children. In this way, the differences, creativity, interests and needs of each child make each children unique (T2).

• The program basically has a structure that supports creativity and aims to strengthen it. However, the shortcomings in practice (physical shortcomings, the attitudes of teachers, the attitudes of school administration and families etc.) makes it difficult to reach goals or hin- ders it (T6). • The program enabled the child to participate actively in the learning process, and encour- aged the child to learn by asking questions, doing research, making discoveries, and playing games. It offered the children the necessary opportunities to express themselves authenti- cally, and in different ways in environments which are appropriate for the learning needs and learning styles of each child (T16). • The effect of the 2013 Preschool Program on the development of children’s creativity and creative thinking is great. As it is a flexible program, it enables teachers to plan according to the interests and talents of children, the cultural traits of the environment and the self-aware- ness of the children (T23). • It develops the imagination, creative and critical thinking skills of children as well as their communication skills and their potential to express their feelings (T25). • The Opinions of Preschool Teacher Candidates on the Fourth Theme When preschool teachers candidate were talking on the advantages of the preschool educa- tional program that supported the creativity of children, they focused on the fact that the pro- gram supported the development of children in all aspects. They stated that as the program is

student- centred, it is a prominent factor in supporting the children’s creativity. The opinions of teacher candidates on the fourth theme are as follows: PLOS ONE Creativity in early childhood PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294915 December 6, 2023 16 / 21