Attitudes of secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid towards developing creative thinking in light of the Corona pandemic and the obstacles facing its implementation

Purpose: The aim of the current study is to get acquainted with secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid towards developing creative thinking in light of the Corona pandemic, and to try to identify the obstacles facing its implementation from the teachers’ viewpoint.

Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted the descriptive approach through a questionnaire consisting of (33) items, after verifying its validity and reliability. It was distributed to all secondary school teachers in the Qasbah of Irbid, where (650) male and female teachers responded to it.

Findings: The results of the study were as follows: The average of the secondary school teachers’ attitudes in Qasbah of Irbid towards the development of creative thinking reached an average score of 2.86. There are statistically significant differences in the attitudes of secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid towards developing creative thinking due to the gender variable, in favor of males, and there are statistically significant differences due to the variable of qualification, in favor of teachers who hold a bachelor’s degree. There are no statistically significant differences due to the variable of experience. As for the obstacles facing the implementation and application of the development of creative thinking in secondary schools from the teachers’ point of view, they obtained a large degree, with an average of 3.58, and a high degree.

Research limitations/implications: (1) Objective limits: the attitudes of secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid towards developing creative thinking, and the obstacles facing its implementation; (2) Human limits: the responses of a sample of secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid; (3) Spatial limits: All secondary schools in Qasbah Irbid; (4)Time limits: the first semester of the academic year 2021/2022 AD.

Originally/value: This study contributes to bridging the gap in trying to identify the obstacles to implementing the development of creative thinking, especially after the Corona pandemic, which greatly affected the educational stage, where the concept of creative thinking became necessary and must be taken to develop the learning process in order to keep pace with the developments that occurred, and what are the difficulties that teachers may face at Schools for its application.

Introduction

Our age today is witnessing many important changes in the fields of information, technology, environment, and education. Society today needs people who are able to make unconventional decisions, and who are able to think differently, and creatively, so the state has the responsibility to develop its policies in line with the needs of Young people and their care, especially the care of the talented among them, who are always looking for creativity, and to achieve this the society and the state must work together to develop the creative abilities, the skills of scientific awareness, and self-education among the rising youth in order to help them develop their creative thinking (Borodina et al., 2019). Where a person needs to think, plan, and understand the course of events and things around him in order to be able to interact with them in the right way that guarantees his interest and avoids problems and bad situations (Yaqoob, 2007).

Most associate creative thinking with artistic tasks and activities, such as writing a novel, drawing a picture, or composing a piece of music. Although these activities show distinct creative abilities, creative thinking is not limited to the arts only. Many of the world’s most prestigious jobs in the fields of business and science require creative thinking skills (Dadakhon and Sabohat, 2022). Creative thinking is defined as looking at something in a new way, the ability to come up with something new, or the ability to perceive patterns that are not clear, and creativity in this context sometimes involves what is called lateral thinking, and creative people have the ability to devise new ways to carry out tasks and solve problems facing challenges (Chiu, 2009). Creativity brings a fresh and unconventional perspective. Employers in all industries prefer employees who can think creatively and bring new perspectives to the workplace. There are ways to develop this creative thinking, to make a person special and unique in their thinking (AlMutairi, 2015). The first obstacle to creative thinking is the lack of guidance from the person himself, or from others; This is represented in the absence of clear and specific goals for the person, so the individual must define these goals, and develop a detailed plan to achieve them, which leads to the flow and launch of creative ideas, and thus improve creative skills (Abduqahhorovna, 2021). In the face of this torrent of accelerating changes, creative thinking has enjoyed an important place in many countries of the world. This is evidenced by the large number of research and studies that take it as their theme, and the dedication of researchers and workers in educational fields that called for the necessity of training students to use different types of creative thinking, because Relying on the indoctrination of knowledge has become unacceptable as a basis for the learning and teaching process, and the establishment of many local, regional and global conferences and symposia that deal with it and its requirements (Temple, 2019). The position of creative thinking has a great impact on the progress, development, and advancement of societies. The technological, knowledge, and scientific revolutions, modern discoveries, and inventions are the fruit of instilling the hands of creators and their ability to think. In addition, creative thinking has an impact on the individual, the development of his personality, his self-realization, and his liberation from traditional models of thinking (Jarwan, 2008). The researcher examined various previous studies related to the topic of study, and the most relevant are presented here in chronological order from oldest to newest, as follows:

In a study conducted by Kharisheh (2001) that aimed to identify the level of contribution of history teachers to the secondary stage in developing critical and creative thinking skills among their students. of the educationally acceptable level (85%), and there were no statistically significant differences between the views of history teachers or as a result of their observation in the classroom in the level of their contribution to the development of thinking skills due to the teacher’s gender, experience, or qualification.

Another study (Strom and Strom, 2002) of teachers’ attitudes in determining the creative thinking expected of students, the results indicated that the correlations were low between the behaviors exhibited by creative people. Also, teachers from the five countries did not give importance to behavior, but rather encouraged obedience, memorization of written study materials, and everything the teacher said. Whereas creative students ask many questions, are predictive, and have a high willingness to take risks, teachers express a negative attitude toward these behaviors that develop students’ creativity, and instead focus on cognitive skills that reflect their self-efficacy. A study by Al-Shihab (2003) sought to identify the level of creative behavior among teachers of public schools within the Green Line, based on gender, academic qualification, years of experience, and level of school. The sample consisted of (502) teachers, selected randomly, from public schools within the Green Line in Israel. The tool utilized is a questionnaire for Creative Behavior consisting of (33) items distributed to five domains: fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration, and sensitivity to problems. The results showed that the practice of creative behavior among teachers is high, and the results indicated that there are statistically significant differences in creative behavior in public schools due to the impact of gender in the domains of flexibility and sensitivity to the problems in favor of male teachers, but due to academic qualification and years of experience in the domain of originality in favor of bachelor and master holders and experience (5–10 years), and due to level of school in the domain of fluency in favor of prep school; and in favor of primary and prep school in the domain of elaboration. In light of the given findings, the study recommended that creative behavior among teachers must be domestically and regionally developed by improving social and economic conditions for teachers to meet the requirements of life.

The study (Al-Hamdi, 2004) aimed to know the reality of the practice of history teachers of critical and creative thinking skills in secondary schools. Creative thinking and their practice of critical thinking. It was also found that there were no differences between teachers’ practice of critical thinking skills due to qualification, and it was also found that there were no differences between teachers’ assessments of their critical thinking skills and managers’ assessments of teachers’ practice, in favor of teachers’ assessments.

And (Açıkgöz, 2005) conducted a study on the characteristics of teachers, and their effects on students’ attitudes, and the results showed that there are differences in the preferences of characteristics due to the sex factor, as female students were more sensitive to the interpersonal characteristics of their teachers, while males were interested in their teachers’ knowledge, erudition, and morals. And their cute natures.

Salaheen et al. (2020) aims to reveal the obstacles facing creative thinking implementation in the learning environment of the ninth-grade students in the As-Salt Directorate of Education from the perspective of the Islamic Education teachers. And to achieve the study’s objective, the researchers designed a questionnaire divided into five fields: Islamic Education Textbook, the teacher, school management, the learner, and the learning environment. The population of the study, which consisted of all the teachers of Islamic Education who teach the ninth-grade students in the As-Salt Directorate of Education, was 92 male and female teachers. The most significant results showed that the Islamic Education textbook’s field got a moderate degree, the field was between moderate and high, with means ranging from 3.40 to 4.43.

Al-Malahim (2021) aimed to learn about teachers’ trends towards the development of intelligence and thinking skills and their link to the quality of life of talented students with disabilities in basic schools in Shoubak. The Researcher has used the descriptive method of analysis; a questionnaire was prepared by the researcher, which enables him to measure the ability of teachers ‘attitudes towards developing the intelligence and the ability for creative thinking among the talented students. This has been applied to all members of the study sample, which consists of 100 Teachers in Alshoubak primary schools during the second semester of the year 2019/2020. The study shows that the students of AlShoubak School; obtained a general average (3.37 out of 5) (intermediate) level, and according to the levels of dimensions, the dimension of developing creative thinking abilities got the highest average (3.64 out of 5), then the dimension of detecting and identifying creative skills with an average and finally, a dimension of encouraging and adopting creativity with an average, and all of them in high rating levels and there were statistically significant differences at (α > 0.05) between each of the skills of intelligence and creative thinking and the talented students in favor of the talented students. There is a positive correlation between the dimensions of the teachers’ attitudes scale, amounting to (76,76), and it indicates a (large) relationship.

Suad (2022) aimed at identifying the obstacles to the application of creative thinking in light of the views of teachers of Islamic education for the sixth grade of primary school. The research sample consisted of (50) male and female teachers from the Second Rusafa Directorate of Education in Baghdad who teach Islamic education for the sixth grade of primary school, teaching activities, and evaluation. The researcher processed the data by using the weighted mean and the percentage weight, the Pearson correlation coefficient, and the percentage. The results of the study showed that there are many obstacles and, to a high degree, Islamic education teachers face in applying creative thinking in their teaching. Teachers of Islamic education on creative thinking skills and suggestions from them (conducting a study on the relationship of obstacles to creative thinking among teachers of Islamic education in the primary stage, with the following variables: years of experience, and academic qualification).

Study problem

During the outbreak of the Coronavirus, educational institutions around the world faced various difficulties and challenges, which made universities and educational schools close their doors, urging them to take advantage of technological features, take advantage of creative ideas, and promote development. Creative thinking of school teachers in accessing educational platforms and creating educational platforms that benefit students and others.

Where fear was one of the biggest obstacles to creativity and innovation, as there are many forms of fear; These include: fear of failure, fear of being ridiculed by others, fear of making a decision, fear of making mistakes, fear of taking risks, fear of change, and fear of the unknown. Fear also prevents a person from exploring new ways and adopting an open mindset that accepts failure.

Sometimes, bad leadership stands in the way of innovative thinking within organizations. If the employee is not given time or encouragement to be creative and innovative, they will often not invent new projects and new mechanisms to achieve them, and in many cases, the atmosphere in these institutions becomes full of criticism that feels insecure and hateful. With the emergence of the Corona pandemic, schools of Qasabah Irbid, like other national and international schools, began to switch to e-learning; However, the e-learning application has faced many difficulties hindering its implementation. Where the teacher’s schools had to use creative and innovative ideas to reach solutions to the problems they were facing through the use of educational platforms, as they are a key focus in the continuation of the educational process. Creative thinking and identifying the obstacles to its application according to the variables of the study.

Study questions

The study attempts to answer the following questions:

- What are the school’s teachers’ attitudes towards developing creative thinking from their viewpoint?

- Are there statistically significant differences at the level of statistical significance (α = 0.05) for the attitudes of secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid towards developing creative thinking from their point of view due to the variable (gender, Qualification, Experience)?

- What are the obstacles facing the development of creative thinking among secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid from their viewpoint?

Study objectives

This study aimed to achieve the following goals:

Disclosure of the trends of secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid towards developing creative thinking in light of the Corona pandemic from their point of view.

Determining the possibility of differences between the responses of secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid in terms of their attitudes towards the development of creative thinking due to the variables: gender, Qualification, and Experience.

Identifying the obstacles facing the development of creative thinking among secondary school teachers in Qasbah, Irbid.

Significance of the study

Through creative thinking in teaching, it is possible to present various educational activities, such as storytelling or representative scenes, that will teach the student away from the pressures of traditional learning, and this idea includes all educational stages, with different creative means that suit each stage and its age group.

Creative thinking allows the student to express himself more than traditional teaching strategies do, whether during class discussions, debates, or educational trips, which enhances the student’s sense of achievement, pride, and openness.

Providing officials with information about the reality of attitudes towards the development of creative thinking to help them build the necessary policy to encourage the development of creative thinking and build a positive attitude towards it.

Identifying the obstacles facing the secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid in developing creative thinking and working to overcome them and address them by the relevant authorities.

Procedural definitions

- Attitudes: the degree of university students’ feelings and inclination towards e-learning, which is measured by the result of their responses to the items contained in the attitude scale that was designed by the researchers.

- Secondary school teachers: Secondary school teachers teach students in grades seven through 12. Specializing in one subject area, such as English or math, these teachers work with five or more groups of students during the day. They lecture, direct discussions, and test students’ knowledge with exams, essays, and homework assignments.

- Obstacles: The set of hindrances that limit the effectiveness of the application of e-learning at Yarmouk University, and is measured by the overall degree of participants’ responses to the items of e-learning obstacles prepared by the researchers.

- Creative thinking: Thinking creatively makes you a better problem-solver, which has far-reaching benefits in both your work and personal life. Expressive, creative thinking helps us challenge our own assumptions, discover new things about ourselves and our perspective, stay mentally sharp, and even be more optimistic.

Theoretical framework

All human beings need creative thinking skills so that they can participate and interact effectively in life. Thinking and planning ensure that a person avoids problems and bad situations, and help him achieve his interests and goals (Cheng, 2010).

Creative thinking is the ability to think about something in a new way, it may be a new approach to a problem, a solution to a conflict between a number of people, or a new result from a data set, and because everyone wants to think creatively and be able to provide new perspectives both in their lives Practical, professional or even personal (Sriwongchai et al., 2015). Creative thinking means thinking outside the box. Creativity often includes lateral thinking, which is the ability to perceive patterns that are not clear. Creative thinking may mean coming up with new ways of doing tasks, solving problems, and meeting challenges (Alrubaie and Daniel, 2014). You must also realize that creative thinking is not limited or conditioned by things that govern it, whether inside or outside logic. Thinking can be directed towards any logical or illogical and applicable idea, with the possibility of failure or incompleteness of the idea and the need to develop it differently, so it must always be Develop alternative plans and quick suggested solutions, to make up for time and come up with more creative ideas (Hokanson, 2017).

The importance of creative thinking

Creative thinking has its advantages in situations, but it has some disadvantages in other situations. Creative thinking and creative thinkers are needed because it helps them break away from the usual way of thinking, encourages consideration of other viewpoints, and even openness to the idea of new solutions (Aizikovitsh-Udi and Amit, 2011):

1. Creative thinking offers tremendous freedom.

2. Creative thinking provides self-awareness.

3. Creative thinking provides stress relief.

4. Creative thinking provides improved productivity.

5. Creative thinking provides courage.

6. Creative thinking provides coherence and teamwork.

Creative thinking techniques

Creative thinking can be stimulated by some of the widely used techniques. These are effective ways to help you come up with new ideas and test them in new environments. Here are the best creative thinking techniques you can use (Eriksson, 1989):

Brainstorming

This technique can be very useful for small or large-scale problems that require an innovative solution. The main goal is to form a set of ideas and choose the most suitable. The general idea of brainstorming is that by having an excess of creative solutions, it becomes easier to come up with a solution of the highest quality (Kamolov et al., 2021).

Lateral thinking

Sometimes the answer to the problem is not in front of her, but next to her. This is the general idea of lateral thinking, and it’s a great way to practice your creative soft skills and come up with innovative plans (Allen and Gerras, 2009).

Create a mind map

Mind mapping helps you connect ideas that you never imagined and can be combined. For this reason, it may help you come up with the right solutions while using your creative thinking skills (Phelan, 2001).

Methods and procedures

Study approach

To achieve the goals of the study and to answer its questions, the descriptive approach was used, as it is the most appropriate method for such a study. Data was collected through the distribution of questionnaires, and after collecting them, statistical analysis was conducted by appropriate methods.

Study sample

The study sample consisted of all secondary school teachers in the Qasbah of Irbid, where 680 questionnaires were distributed, and 650 questionnaires were retrieved, as it was found that 30 questionnaires were not valid for statistical analysis. Table 1 shows the distribution of the study sample according to the independent variables.

Table 1

Table 1. Distribution of the respondents according to the levels of its variables.

Study instrument

To apply the study tool, the educational literature and previous studies on the attitudes of secondary school teachers towards the development of creative thinking, and the obstacles facing its implementation were reviewed. The initial form of the study tool included (24) items about Attitudes, it became (18), and (30) items that dealt with obstacles, it became (25). The respondent marks each of the domains on a five-point scale (very high, high, medium, low, very low).

Face validity

The apparent validity of the tool was tested by distributing it to 9 faculty members from the College of Education in Jordanian universities, to express their opinions regarding the integrity of the linguistic formulation of the items, and the appropriateness of the vocabulary for them. Domains: delete or add new items. The final form of the tools, after considering the Attitudes suggestions, consists of (43) items. (18) items deal with attitudes, and (25) items on obstacles facing the development of creative thinking.

Instrument reliability

The reliability of the study instrument was verified by applying the questionnaire to the pilot sample (30 respondents) twice, with a time difference of 2 weeks, and the Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between the two applications. It was found that the overall reliability coefficient of the attitudes scale was 0.897. Likewise, the Pearson correlation coefficient (reliability coefficient) was calculated in Table 2, and the values were between 0.859–0.951. Accordingly, these values were considered appropriate for achieving the purposes of this study.

Table 2

Table 2. Pearson correlation coefficient (reliability coefficient) for Obstacles facing the application of developing creative thinking.

Table 2 shows the Cronbach’ Alpha value, which ranged from 0.822 to 0.903. Moreover, the Cronbach’ alpha coefficient reliability for the attitudes was found to be 0.903, and for the Obstacles facing the application of developing creative thinking was found to be 0.891. This indicates an acceptable Cronbach’ Alpha value for each factor; whenever Cronbach’ Alpha value is acceptable, if it’s more than 0.70 (Table 3).

Table 3

Table 3. Internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach’s Alpha) for the domains of obstacles to applying creative thinking development.

Instrument correction

To calculate the means for the items, domains, and the overall score of the instrument, the statistical criterion is adopted using the following equation: Category range = (highest value −− lowest value) divided by the number of options.

The range of the category = 5–1 = 4 ÷ 5 = 0.8, and thus the correction criterion becomes as shown in Table 4.

Table 4

Table 4. The statistical criterion for determining the degree of arithmetic means.

Results and discussion

The results of the first question: What are the schools’ teachers’ attitudes towards developing creative thinking from their viewpoint?

In order to answer this question, the means and standard deviations of the respondents’ estimates regarding their attitudes towards developing creative thinking were measured as shown in Table 5 and Figure 1.

Table 5

Table 5. The means and standard deviations of the respondents’ estimates for their attitudes towards developing creative thinking, arranged in descending order according to the means.

Figure 1

Figure 1. Attitudes towards developing creative thinking.

Table 5 shows that the arithmetic means of the items of this domain ranged between (2.11 and 3.39) with a (low–high) degree. Item (14) which states “Creative thinking contributes to opening new horizons and works on the development of the individual and society” ranked first with a mean (3.39), a standard deviation (1.119), and a (high) degree, whereas Item (5) implying that “If we use creative thinking in our daily life, it does not make us get rid of those negative frustrating thoughts and come up with creative ones “obtained the last place, with a mean (2.15), a standard deviation (1.171) and a (low) degree So, their attitudes seem moderate.

The result of this field may be attributed to the fact that creative thinking contributes to opening new horizons and works on the development of the individual and society, where creative thinking skills are linked to all aspects of life, including daily activities and exercises, where everyone needs creative thinking skills to make an impactful change in their lives, through Preparing plans and strategies to confront the problems and crises that may hinder their goals and ambitions, where creative thinking is of great importance in various aspects of life. Thinking in an innovative way and deducing new and innovative solutions opens new horizons and works on the development of the individual and society. This result coincides with the study (Al-Hamdi, 2004, Al-Malahim, 2021). This revealed positive attitudes to the creative thinking of teachers and contradicted the study (Al-Shihab, 2003).

The results of the second question: are there statistically significant differences at the level of statistical significance (α = 0.05) for the attitudes of secondary school teachers in Qasbah Irbid towards developing creative thinking from their viewpoint due to the variable (gender, Qualification, Experience)?

The means and standard deviations of the respondents’ estimates about their attitudes towards developing creative thinking were calculated according to the variable (gender, Qualification, Experience), as presented in the following tables:

First: gender

The arithmetic means and standard deviations of secondary school teachers’ attitudes towards developing creative thinking were extracted to examine the effect of the gender variable, as well as applying the t-tests, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6

Table 6. T-tests regarding the attitudes of respondents towards developing creative thinking from their viewpoints according to gender (male, female).

Table 6 reveals statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α < 0.05) in the responses of the participants of the attitudes towards developing creative thinking attributed to the gender variable, and the differences are in favor of males. This result may be attributed to the fact that male teachers are more interested and more committed to developing creative thinking compared to female teachers, because the teacher does not have other concerns such as women such as household obligations, home care, raising children, and teaching them at home, and thus the development of creative thinking contributed to this situation among male teachers. This result is consistent with the findings of the study (Kharisheh, 2001; Strom and Strom, 2002), that there were statistically significant differences between the respondents’ responses due to the sex variable, and the differences were in favor of males. It also corresponds to the results of the study (Al-Hamdi, 2004), which revealed high-level attitudes among teachers towards the development of creative thinking. The results also showed that there were statistically significant differences between the participants’ responses due to the gender variable that came. (Açıkgöz, 2005) showed in their study that the attitude of male teachers towards the development of creative thinking showed a high positive degree compared to female teachers, and therefore, the result of the current study with regard to attitudes towards the development of creative thinking is consistent.

Second: qualification

The means and standard deviations of secondary school teachers ‘attitudes towards developing creative thinking were extracted according to their place of residence, and the t-test was used as shown in Table 7.

Table 7

Table 7. The T-test of the attitudes of secondary school teachers towards developing creative thinking from their point of view, according to the qualification (Bachelor, Master).

Table 7 shows that there are statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α < 0.05) in the responses of the participants regarding the attitudes of secondary school teachers towards developing creative thinking from their point of view, according to the variable Qualification, and the differences were in favor of a Bachelor’s.

This result may be attributed to the fact that those with a bachelor’s degree are more motivated than those with a master’s degree, this may be due to the desire, passion and ambition to learn more, because of their positive attitudes towards developing themselves more, and because of their commitment to work more, unlike those who hold a master’s degree, they may have other jobs and do not have enough time. They may have other job opportunities, which will be reflected in their performance inside the school due to the lack of time. They may also think that they do not need to develop creative thinking because they have obtained a higher degree from the BA. This study agreed with Al-Shihab (2003), who found that males outperformed females in their attitudes toward creativity. However, it differed from Kharisheh (2001), whose results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in the level of history teachers’ contribution to developing creative thinking that could be attributed to gender, qualification, or experience.

Third: experience

The means and standard deviations of secondary school teachers’ attitudes towards developing creative thinking were extracted from their point of view by Experience, as well as the T-tests, as presented in Table 8.

Table 8

Table 8. The T-test on the attitudes of secondary school teachers towards developing creative thinking from their point of view, according to the experience (0–5 years, 6–10 years).

Table 8 indicates that there are no statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α < 0.05) in the responses of the participants concerning the attitudes of secondary school teachers towards developing creative thinking from their point of view, attributable to the Experience variable.

This indicates that teachers with high and low experience in schools have the same attitudes towards developing creative thinking, which means that teachers prefer traditional thinking in schools more than creative thinking because of the difficulties they face as a result of the lack of capabilities and infrastructure for that. Besides, Tanfeed developing creative thinking faces various difficulties related to teachers who may not have the motivation and think outside the box to develop themselves and their students, which reduces their positive attitudes towards it. In addition, it is difficult for teachers in the disciplines that are accustomed to traditional thinking to keep pace with the developments that have occurred and the technological acceleration, with the emergence of the Corona pandemic, towards achieving progress, as it is impossible to acquire the required scientific skills and competencies without implementing the development of creative thinking. On the other hand, teachers in scientific disciplines may not get all the support and modern means of communication from their schools due to the scarcity of capabilities and abilities to keep pace with these developments, and therefore, their attitudes did not reach a high level. This study was consistent with Kharisheh (2001), who found that there were no differences in history teachers’ contribution to developing creative thinking that could be attributed to experience. It also agreed with Al-Hamdi (2004), whose results showed no significant differences among teachers in the practice of critical and creative thinking skills based on experience. However, the current study differed from Al-Shihab (2003), who found significant differences in the domain of originality in favor of teachers with 5–10 years of experience, indicating that experience has a positive effect on creative behavior in certain areas.

The results of the third question: What are the obstacles facing the application of developing creative thinking at secondary school teachers from the teachers’ viewpoint?

To address this question, the arithmetic means and standard deviations were computed for the assessments of the respondents on the items of obstacles facing the implementation of developing creative thinking from their point of view, and each of its areas, as illustrated in Table 9 and Figure 2.

Table 9

Table 9. The means and standard deviations of the respondents’ estimates on the items of the obstacles facing the implementation of developing creative thinking, and each of its fields, are arranged in descending order according to the means.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Arithmetic means of the domains of obstacles to applying creative thinking development.

As shown in Table 9, the obstacles facing the implementation of developing creative thinking from their viewpoint scored a (high) level with a mean of 3.58, and a standard deviation of 0.655. The third domain regarding the obstacles related to schools’ infrastructure ranked first with a mean of 3.89, a standard deviation of 0.805, and a high degree. The second domain concerning the obstacle regarding the students obtained the last place with a mean of 3.11, a (medium) degree, and a standard deviation of 0.755. This result is consistent with the results of the study (Salaheen et al., 2020), which showed that the obstacles to implementing the development of creative thinking in Salt schools were of a high degree.

These results are attributed to the fact that public secondary schools do not have a plan to develop creative thinking in advance, and therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed these difficulties that hindered the effective application of creative thinking. In fact, the infrastructure of the secondary school in the Qasbah of Irbid does not serve the application of the development of creative thinking, due to the lack of equipment, supplies, computers, and educational platforms that serve that. In addition to the inability to maintain equipment, which contributed to impeding the implementation of creative thinking. We cannot ignore the negative attitudes of many students towards the development of creative thinking, and the lack of training courses related to creative thinking skills, innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership. This study was consistent with the findings of Salaheen et al. (2020), which revealed that the obstacles to implementing creative thinking were also high and included weaknesses in the textbook, limitations in administrative roles, the teacher, and the educational environment. It also agreed with Suad (2022), who indicated that teachers face obstacles in applying creative thinking and that these challenges are related to training and material resources. However, it differed from the studies of Kharisheh (2001) and Al-Hamdi (2004), which focused more on the level of practicing thinking skills rather than identifying the obstacles that hinder their application. The means and standard deviations of the respondents’ estimates on each of the elements of each domain were calculated as shown in Table 10.

Table 10

Table 10. The means and standard deviations of the respondents’ estimates on the first domain items (teachers’) in descending order.

The first domain: the obstacle regarding the teacher’s

Table 10 illustrates that the means of the domain items ranged between (3.39–3.99) with a high degree. Item (3) stating “The teacher lacks a clear and systematic plan to develop students’ creative thinking skills” attained first place with a mean of 3.99, a standard deviation of 1.158, and a high level. Whereas Item (1), stating that “The lack of psychological security for students due to insufficient respect for their ideas and opinions” came in the last place, with a mean of 3.39, a standard deviation of 1.077, and a high degree. This result may be attributed to the inability of the teacher to provide psychological security for the student in terms of respecting his ideas and opinions, and to explore creative students by communicating with them remotely due to the lack of sufficient experience for that, and because it is a new experience and he has no prior plan for that. This result can be attributed to the fact that teachers have become more aware of the importance of prior planning to develop students’ creative thinking skills, given the growing focus on modern instructional strategies that emphasize critical and creative thinking. Many teachers now recognize that planning is the key entry point for achieving the goals of creative education; therefore, they seek to include diverse activities and approaches that encourage students to innovate and take initiative. The lower mean score of the item related to providing psychological security for students may be due to the difficulty of achieving effective interpersonal communication in online or blended learning environments, where teachers find it challenging to read students’ emotions and adequately appreciate their ideas. Furthermore, the limited experience of some teachers in managing open discussions and encouraging free expression makes them less capable of creating a classroom environment in which students feel accepted and confident. Thus, it can be said that this result stems from disparities in teachers’ competencies—between the planning and procedural aspects on one hand, and the psychological and emotional aspects on the other—particularly in light of recent transformations in teaching methods. This finding is consistent with the results of Salaheen et al. (2020), which showed that the obstacles related to teachers were rated as high, mainly due to a lack of training and limited use of modern instructional methods. It also aligns with the study of Suad (2022), which indicated that the absence of a systematic plan among teachers is one of the major barriers to developing creative thinking. However, it differs from the findings of Kharisheh (2001), who found that history teachers’ contribution to developing creative thinking was within the educationally acceptable level, as well as from the studies of Al-Hamdi (2004) and Kharisheh (2001) regarding the modern educational environment, since they did not address the effects of technological changes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second domain: the obstacle regarding the students

As shown in Table 11, the means of the domain Items ranged between (2.56 and 3.31) with a (medium) degree. Item (6), which stipulated “The student lacks the ability to generate new ideas and create original work,” came in first place with a mean of 3.31, a standard deviation of 1.021, and a (medium) degree. While Item (2), which stated “The student’s inability to view things from different perspectives “, ranked last, with a mean of 2.56, a standard deviation of 1.030, and a (medium) degree.

Table 11

Table 11. The means and standard deviations of the respondents on the second domain items in descending order.

This result may be attributed to the fact that the student faces obstacles that prevent the presentation of creative ideas, and this may be due to the student’s inability to understand and assimilate the course being presented by the teacher, or due to the student’s inability to use the technical methods and learning platforms that were later used for teaching or because the student is far from face-to-face education in classrooms and classrooms. This result can be attributed to the overlap between the teaching strategies used, students’ developmental characteristics, and their learning environment. Naturally, not all students lack creative abilities; however, the existence of certain barriers limits the activation of creative thinking within the classroom or during learning activities. The result may also be attributed to teachers’ adherence to traditional teaching methods that emphasize memorization and lower-order thinking skills, rather than focusing on higher-order thinking skills. In addition, there is often little emphasis on activities that stimulate and encourage students to think creatively, research, explore, and investigate—activities that could help generate new ideas among learners. The lack of students’ motivation for inquiry and research can be explained by their weak internal drive, further exacerbated by teachers’ neglect or lack of encouragement, which diminishes students’ motivation and creativity. The transition to online education in recent years has also played a significant role in intensifying these challenges, especially among students who lack technological skills or have limited interaction through digital learning platforms. Face-to-face interaction in traditional classrooms offers students greater opportunities for discussion, observation, and experimentation, whereas online learning can create a sense of isolation or fear of participation. From a psychological and educational perspective, this result highlights a shortcoming in building a learning environment that truly fosters and supports creativity—one that encourages intellectual risk-taking and the adoption of unconventional ideas. This study aligns with the findings of Salaheen et al. (2020), which emphasized students’ low motivation and reliance on memorization and rote learning; with Suad (2022), which showed that students exhibit little interest in creative thinking and limited participation in creative activities; and with Al-Malahim (2021), which confirmed that a stimulating and supportive environment contributes significantly to enhancing creative thinking. However, it differs from Al-Shihab (2003), whose study revealed that teachers displayed high creative behavior, from which students benefited noticeably.

The third domain: the obstacles regarding schools’ infrastructure

Table 12 illustrates that the means of the domain Items ranged between (3.54 and 4.29) with a high degree. Item (3), which speaks “The lack of learning resources that support the development of creative thinking,” ranked first with a mean of 4.29, a standard deviation of 1.070, and a high degree. While item (2), which states “The lack of internet services in schools that support research and exploration activities,” ranked last, with a mean of 3.54, a standard deviation of 1.115, and a high degree.

Table 12

Table 12. The means and standard deviations of the participants’ estimates on the domain items (obstacle related to schools’ infrastructure), arranged in descending order according to the means.

This result is due to the fact that it is the availability of learning resources and internet networks that contribute to the development of creative thinking for research, exploration, obtaining new information, and keeping abreast of developments that have occurred in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Government schools are also unable to provide modern technical means for this because of their inability to do so. Finance. This result may also be attributed to the availability—though limited—of learning resources, educational materials, and internet platforms that contribute to developing creative thinking skills. Such tools help foster research, exploration, and inquiry abilities, enabling students to access up-to-date information that keeps them aligned with technological and scientific advancements. This has become especially evident during the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which clearly highlighted the critical role of digital and online learning in supporting education. When comparing public and private schools, a noticeable gap can be observed in terms of access to technological resources. Many private schools are well-prepared and equipped with the necessary digital tools, whereas a large number of public schools still suffer from inadequate infrastructure and a lack of technological means. This shortage limits creativity and innovation among students, distancing them from interactive, technology-based learning activities that nurture creative thinking. Therefore, it is essential—whether in public or private schools—to work on improving both the physical and technological infrastructure, keeping pace with educational developments, and providing diverse learning resources that stimulate and enhance students’ capacity for creativity, innovation, and discovery. This study is consistent with the findings of Salaheen et al. (2020), which indicated that school infrastructure is among the major obstacles to implementing creative thinking, and with Suad (2022), who confirmed that material and administrative challenges in schools—such as weak support and limited resources—negatively affect the application of creative thinking. However, it differs from the studies of Al-Hamdi (2004) and Al-Shihab (2003), which focused primarily on the behavioral and cognitive aspects of creativity and did not explicitly address the impact of school infrastructure or resources on fostering creative thinking.

Recommendations

Considering the results of the current study, the researchers recommend the following:

- The researcher recommends that the Jordanian Ministry of Education support public schools financially to provide all requirements for the development of creative thinking because of its great importance in the development of the student, teacher, and educational stage.

- Working on holding specialized training courses for male and female secondary school teachers in the Qasbah of Irbid in order to develop creative thinking.

- Urging secondary schools to adopt and encourage creative and innovative ideas and provide material and moral incentives for these ideas.

- Providing appropriate solutions for the development of infrastructure and attention to the learning resources in secondary schools.

- That secondary schools establish partnerships with private sector companies that support and contribute to the development of creative thinking.

- Working on promoting and establishing initiatives that contribute to acquiring experiences and skills among teachers, male and female students, and most of them are creative initiatives in order to benefit from them.

Data availability statement

The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found in the article/supplementary material.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by Luai Taleb Obaidat/Jadara University. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

LO: Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Formal analysis, Data curation.

Funding

The author(s) declared that financial support was not received for this work and/or its publication.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Jadara University for its encouragement of scientific research, which played an active role in the development of this study and its outcomes.

Conflict of interest

The author(s) declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Generative AI statement

The author(s) declared that Generative AI was not used in the creation of this manuscript.

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