Creative teaching in English classrooms: the case of Indonesia

Abstract

This research addresses a critical yet underexplored aspect of creative teaching: the need to consider the dynamic interplay of social structures, cultures, and teacher agency. While previous studies on creative teaching have primarily concentrated on the outcomes of creativity—often highlighting task constraints that can enhance creative expression—they tend to overlook the fundamental structures, cultures, and teacher agency that significantly influence teachers’ creative practices. The current qualitative study investigates the creative teaching practices of four secondary school English teachers from three different schools in Java, Indonesia: a public school, a private vocational school, and a private school.

Guided by Critical Realist philosophy and employing Margaret Archer’s Morphogenetic approach, the study examines how these teaching practices are shaped by teacher agency, social interactions, and existing social structures and cultures. Data were collected over six months through interviews with the teachers, 24 classroom observations, informal conversations documented as researcher notes, analysis of learning materials, and interviews with two professors involved in teacher preparation programs. The data were analyzed using Fryer’s Critical Realist Thematic Analysis. The study identifies several institutional mechanisms that encompass social structures and cultures contributing to creative teaching, including (1) school and classroom climate, (2) autonomy and flexibility, and (3) resources availability, all of which are integral to the structural and cultural framework. At the individual level, it highlights the concept of autonomous reflexivity among the teachers, enabling them to make independent decisions free from external influence. This suggests a need to reevaluate the traditional focus on individual responsibility for creativity in teaching. This research also found that school support is crucial in facilitating teachers' creative practices, revealing that significant structural constraints hinder the development of these practices.

While the investigation into the mechanisms producing creative teaching practices benefits from Margaret Archer’s Morphogenetic Approach, it is only through a decolonial lens that I can fully appreciate the cultural nuances of the teachers’ creative practices, particularly through Dewantara’s "Tri Sakti Jiwa" (Three Excellent Souls), which includes cipta (thinking ability), rasa (feeling), and karsa (intention). This framework highlights the significance of teachers' motivation and intent, the need for contextual adaptation, and the focus on affective domains.

Furthermore, I challenge the notion that creativity is inherently opposed to compliance, demonstrating that respectful compliance can actually enhance teachers' creative teaching practices. This research enriches the literature on creative teaching by providing a fresh perspective on creative practices from underrepresented contexts and offers a decolonial viewpoint that broadens the scope of understanding creativity.