Creativity, education and neoliberalism: Proposal for a critical pedagogical model

Abstract

This article discusses the self-interested use of the term creativity by neoliberalism, how it has influenced educational policies during the last few years, and how its influence can be counteracted by proposing an alternative as a critical pedagogical model. To this end, a preliminary attempt is made to define a concept of creativity through a multidisciplinary approach (psychological, sociological, anthropological, pedagogical...) with a critical basis that contrasts with the ideas that have been coined in recent decades by the business discourse. Taking into account this contrast, we investigate how pedagogy should resort to creativity for the optimal development of the critical capacity of students, to suggest an educational model that allows them to question the strategies and the purpose of their own learning process, as well as to freely form their own subjectivity and enhance their critical thinking. This argumentative journey resorts to a methodology based on the bibliographic review –documentary research – of the appropriate sources for the concepts treated directly and in a contextual way. Finally, a series of conclusions are presented that demonstrate the need to propose an alternative educational model, the result of a related pedagogical system, that encourages creativity in such a way that favors the generation of critical learning and teaching processes.