Creativity and its Assessment in Contemporary Foreign Studies

The problem of determining the possibilities and methods of assessing creative potential is as relevant as it is debatable. The growing attention to this problem is associated with the recognition of creativity as one of the key “skills of the 21st century” and the need for its development. The article analyzes modern foreign approaches to measuring creativity in order to determine the main trends and prospects for the development of this direction. Measuring creativity through the prism of cognitive, conative, emotional and environmental variables is a historically well-established and, at the same time, widespread practice. There are two main approaches to measuring creative potential: related to resources, based on the study of abilities and personal characteristics associated with creativity, and holistic – measuring creativity with the help of tasks from different areas that imitate real creative work. The advantages and disadvantages of the existing measurement methods are discussed. The most modern and promising tool for assessing creativity – EPoC – stands out. A new vector in measuring the creative potential of children based on the dynamic assessment and taking into account the zone of proximal development is outlined – a move away from the statement of the level of manifestation of creativity to the use of methods for assessing the individual «profile of creativity» to determine the optimal options for the development of creative potential, career guidance and expertise of creative programs.

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