Chemistry teachers’ views of creativity

Research Design

This study is based on qualitative research design which follows phenomenology method to explore chemistry teachers’ ideas about creativity because phenomenology focuses on facts that we are aware of but don’t have a deep and detailed understanding of. For studies that investigate facts that are not completely strange to people but at the same time exact meaning of them wasn’t perceived, phenomenology forms a good research base (Yıldırım&Şimşek, 2008).

Participants

The sample of the study consisted of 7 male and 6 female participants for a total 13 chemistry teachers working in Amasya in 2012-2013 academic year. Participant’s ages varied between 29 and 56. While choosing the participants for this study, convenience sampling was used because most of the chemistry teachers in Amasya were on holiday and those who were not on holiday were responsible for preparing exams for high school students. The teachers were coded as A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L and M in order to keep their privacy.

Data Collection

Semi-structured interview form was used to collect data. Interview form consisted of 12 open ended questions and 1 multiple choice question in which teachers can choose three statements that reflects their view. Semi-structured interview form was developed on the basis of the questionnaire used by Diakidoy and Kanari (1999). A language specialist reviewed the questions for validity. Data were collected through interviews with teachers but teachers who wish to respond by writing their answers have responded questions in a space alone. For internal validity, relevant direct quotations were made in order to give further detail to the findings.

Data Analysis

Content analysis, in which the data are firstly coded and then are arranged logically, was used. Data were analyzed by using NVivo 9 qualitative analysis software. First, based on emerging concepts in whole data, the codes and themes were created. While determining themes, literature about creativity was taken into consideration. It was seen that the emerging themes in this research were consistent with each other.