Abstract

In this study, the researcher investigated the relationship between creative thinking and teachers’ proficiency in public secondary schools in Imo state, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Two research questions and two null-hypotheses guided the study. The two null-hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population of the study consisted of 420 teachers randomly selected from the 240 secondary schools in Imo state. There was no sample size because of the size of the population. The instrument for data collection was “Creative Thinking as Predictor of Teachers’ Job Proficiency in Public Secondary Schools in Imo State Questionnaire” (CTPTJPISQ). The instrument consisted of two sections. Section A was concerned with the relationship between creative thinking and teachers’ job proficiency while section B dealt with the relationship between creative thinking and students’ cognitive development. A 20 item questionnaire was designed along a modified four point rating scale; Strongly Agree (SA) = 4points, Agree (A) = 3points, Disagree (D) = 2Points and Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1 point. The item by item analysis was done using the same point scale rating. The questionnaire was validated by three experts, two in Educational Management and Policy and one in Measurement and Evaluation, all in the Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. The reliability of CTPTJPISQ was obtained through trial testing and analysis using the split-half method of reliability. The two sets of scores derived from the pilot tests were correlated using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The reliability value 0.88 was obtained from the scores which indicated a high reliability of the instrument. The data collected were analyzed using arithmetic mean to answer the research questions while the Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test two hypotheses. The study found out that there is a significant relationship between creative thinking and teachers’ job proficiency. It was also recommended that creative thinking models should be factored into classroom learning strategies in all public secondary schools in Imo State, Nigeria.

Key words: Creative thinking, predictor, teachers’ job proficiency