Active Learning

in Higher Education
http://alh.sagepub.com/

Personal Creativity for Entrepreneurship: Teaching and Learning Strategies

Alison Morrison and Bill Johnston
Active Learning in Higher Education 2003 4: 145
DOI: 10.1177/1469787403004002003
The online version of this article can be found at:
http://alh.sagepub.com/content/4/2/145

Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com

Additional services and information for Active Learning in Higher Education can be found at:
Email Alerts: http://alh.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts
Subscriptions: http://alh.sagepub.com/subscriptions
Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav
Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
Citations: http://alh.sagepub.com/content/4/2/145.refs.html

>> Version of Record - Jul 1, 2003

What is This?

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 145

active learning
in higher education

Personal
creativity for
entrepreneurship

Copyright 2003 The Institute

for Learning and Teaching in
Higher Education and
SAGE Publications (London,
Thousand Oaks, CA and
New Delhi)
Vol 4(2): 145158 [1469-7874
(200307) 4:2;145158;033890]

Teaching and learning strategies

ARTICLE

A L I S O N M O R R I S O N & B I L L J O H N S TO N

University of Strathclyde, UK

A B S T R AC T Systematic approaches to the development of creativity

amongst higher education students appear to be limited, particularly in
the UK. The consequence is that prospective lecturers and students find
themselves with little practical guidance to action. Towards addressing
this void, this article presents a case study example of a non-traditional
educational intervention in the form of one class in action: Entrepreneurship: Personal Creativity. The University of Strathclyde has offered
this class, as part of the offerings of the Strathclyde Entrepreneurship
Initiative, since the academic session 1996/97. It is concluded that
creativity could usefully be introduced into the curriculum more
systematically and widely and with greater coherence, rather than
being ring-fenced into a stand-alone class.
K E Y WO R D S : creativity, curriculum, entrepreneurship, higher

education

Introduction
Since the academic session 1996/97, the class Entrepreneurship: Personal
Creativity has been offered by the University of Strathclyde as part of the
Strathclyde Entrepreneurship Initiative, which was originally established
with partial funding from the national economic development body,
Scottish Enterprise. It could be argued that the establishment of the initiative was driven primarily by political and economic imperatives, and secondarily by educational ethos. Indeed, across three decades, the UK
government has consistently articulated a policy that places education for
enterprise and lifelong learning at the heart of its strategy of economic
regeneration (Chaston et al., 1999). This is considered to be particularly
salient in terms of securing international competitive advantage in a knowledge economy, new business creation and workforce flexibility. In
addition, employers have come to seek graduates who can communicate,
work in a team and adapt to a rapidly changing economic and cultural
145

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 146

AC T I V E L E A R N I N G I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

4(2)

landscape, as well as provide evidence of having disciplinary knowledge

(Johnston, 2000). According to Blanch (1999) this reflects the perception
of government and industry that the driving purpose of the educational
process is to produce a skilled workforce, perhaps to the neglect of more
formative and holistic intellectual development. This contextualization of
educational interventions generates a rather contentious, but highly significant, question. How valid are educational objectives that are justified on the
basis of political and economic imperatives? Indeed, does it not then follow
that the integrity and autonomy of the academics right to determine what
is and what is not appropriate knowledge and curriculum content is being
challenged by the wider establishment?
Academic justification for the inclusion of Entrepreneurship: Personal
Creativity in the curriculum is argued on the basis of environmental
change, learning styles, educational process and effective utilization of
business studies curriculum space as follows:
Educational and work environmental change. From a UK perspective,
Johnston (2000) draws attention to educational change since 1945 that
has been characterized by three major forces: the information
explosion; the widespread acceptance of education as a human right;
and the assumption of the notion that education is the key to both individual well-being and social reconstruction. Each factor has contributed
to the reshaping of curriculum where a central theme to emerge is that
of innovation and creativity, and the concept of self-managed and portfolio careers.
Entrepreneurship and learning styles. Corresponding to Lashleys
(1999) approach, the students who volunteer to study entrepreneurship
are generally outgoing, activists in nature, tending to act impetuously
with little concern for the long-term effects. They are ideas (creative)
persons, prone to use the right side of their brains, and who get a buzz
out of risk-taking. In Johnstons changing environment this represents
a valuable commodity. It needs to be nurtured through appropriate
learning and teaching strategies towards greater reflection in order to
adequately prepare nascent entrepreneurs for the world of work and
sustained entrepreneurial activity.
Creativity, entrepreneurship and the educational process. Timmons
(1994) has argued that creativity should be central to entrepreneurship
education provision, and the concept of creativity has been a constant
focus of educational thinking and practice (Torrance and Rockenstein,
1988). Furthermore, Gibb (1996) proposes that certain basic stimuli
for entrepreneurial behaviour lie naturally within the culture, task structure and learning environment in higher education.
146

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 147

MORRISON

&

J O H N S T O N : P E R S O N A L C R E AT I V I T Y

Use of business studies curriculum space. Airey and Tribe (2000)

contribute to the debate by proposing a broadening of the business
studies curriculum, breaking out of a traditional preoccupation with a
vocational action orientation. Through curriculum content that facilitates a greater degree of self-discovered knowledge, a more liberal and
reflective orientation could be embraced. This may make a vital contribution to the world of business itself by producing future managers
who are intellectually able to think outside existing practices and paradigms, constructively challenging tradition, thereby creating knowledge
and contributing important revitalizating (creative) inputs and competitive edge.
That said, systematic approaches to the development of creativity
amongst higher education students appear to be limited, particularly in the
UK. The consequence is that prospective lecturers and students find themselves with little practical guidance to action (Johnston, 2000). Towards
addressing this void, this article presents a case study example of a nontraditional educational intervention in the form of one class in action:
Entrepreneurship: Personal Creativity. It is a credit-bearing elective which
undergraduate students from any discipline can volunteer to take at any
point in their degree studies. Since its introduction in the academic session
1996/97 approximately 200 students have completed the class.
The class runs over 12 two-hour sessions and is aimed to:
nurture capabilities of personal and team creativity;
promote understanding of the nature and role of creativity within a
students individual social and economic contexts;
overcome barriers to the creative process;
develop frameworks within which to evaluate creative, entrepreneurial
opportunities;
enhance communication and presentation skills; and
improve team building and working abilities.
Furthermore, although entrepreneurship is selected as an experiential
context to which personal creativity is applied, the key objective of this class
is broader in that it is designed to nurture those creative processes and skills
in the students that have the potential to be effectively applied within their
particular academic, work and social worlds. In addition, specific emphasis
is placed on the creative and problem-solving skills of both the individual
and team.
The remainder of the article presents the case study and is structured to
address the following questions:
How are the terms entrepreneurship and personal creativity defined?
147

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 148

AC T I V E L E A R N I N G I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

4(2)

How can teaching design, support and delivery strategies be devised to

support learning?
What learning styles are appropriate for students to learn about
personal creativity in entrepreneurship?
How can the process be managed in such a way as to nurture the creative
spirit, independence of action, and new ways of thinking and learning
about the world of entrepreneurship?

Class definition
Essentially, the essence of entrepreneurship is the initiation of change,
through creativity and innovation, defined by Curran and Burrows (1986:
269) as: Entrepreneurship is the innovatory process involved in the
creation of an economic enterprise based on a new product or service
which differs significantly from products or services in the way its production is organised, or in its marketing. At the heart is a personal, human
creative act that initiates economic activity (Morrison, 1998), resulting in
personal creativity which Torrance and Rockstein (1988: 275) define as:
Personal creativity is: a process of becoming sensitive to or aware of problems,
deficiencies, and gaps in knowledge for which there is no learned solution;
bringing together existing information from the memory storage or external;
defining the difficulty or identifying the missing elements; searching for
solutions, making guesses, producing alternatives to solve the problem; testing
and re-testing these alternatives; and perfecting them and finally communicating the results.

Without such action there can be no entrepreneurship. It is proposed that

one key to unlocking the potential of entrepreneurship within an individual
member of society, and the degree to which their personal creativity exists
or can be stimulated, may be through appropriate educational interventions. The above definitions suggest that such interventions should focus
on the nurturing of innovation and creation, towards commercial application, through the heightening of personal qualities of reflecting, doing,
valuing, feeling, behaving and relating to others. They would aim to sensitize potential entrepreneurs to the value of a disposition to personal
creativity as related to entrepreneurship, and develop skill in using creative
techniques in relation to business idea generation and problem-solving.
This contrasts quite sharply to traditional higher education curricula that
emphasize sequences of instruction and examination in bodies of subject
knowledge, and their associated methodologies, frequently organized
within established disciplinary frameworks and leading to a university
degree in a given subject or subjects (Johnston and Morrison, 1997).
148

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 149

MORRISON

Table 1

&

J O H N S T O N : P E R S O N A L C R E AT I V I T Y

Student terminology definition

Entrepreneurship

Personal Creativity

Class Expectations

Associated with self-confidence, risk, role models with

connotations of both success and glamour, e.g. Bill Gates,
and less admired characters, e.g. Robert Maxwell. It is
seen as a means of achieving, and an output of being
creative.
Associated with problem-solving, developing different
perspectives and learning new techniques in the
expectation that these could be applied to be innovative. It
contributes to the achievement of personal goals, and
development of personal skills such as self-confidence and
communication.
Focused on the desired outcomes. It was hoped that the
class would provide students with an advantage relative to
creative skill application within both academic and
commercial environments. Relative to future career
opportunities, it was the students hope that the class
would result in making them more employable, or
alternatively, having the self-confidence to establish their
own entrepreneurial venture.

Teaching design, support and delivery

A team approach is adopted to class design, combining specialists drawn
from the areas of education, entrepreneurship and personal creativity. In
addition, it is considered important to be aware of, and where appropriate
to incorporate, the perceptions and expectations of each student cohort.
Hence in the first of the 12 two-hour sessions students are asked to define
the terms entrepreneurship and personal creativity in their own words.
Furthermore, they are requested to voice their expectations of the class. For
example, Table 1 summarizes the findings from the year 1996/97, from
which it can be concluded that the students were motivated to attend the
class in the expectation that, through the development of creative and
personal skills, and specifically self-confidence, their level of (entrepreneurial) achievement would be enhanced.
This inclusive and student-centred approach to the process of class
design proves to be powerful and effective, profiting from the synergistic
strengths of the specialists and students. It enables the means of configuring the class, relating specific teaching and learning events, resource inputs
and infrastructure to each other in a coherent manner. The outcome of this
team approach to class design is presented in Table 2 in the form of a class
149

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

Class model

Class as a creative
learning organization

15

Components and process of creativity

Individual as positive contributor within a
creative organization
Team building and group dynamics
Using team as a creative resource
Networking as means of achieving
personal creativity
Conceptual and emotional barriers to
creativity and strategies to overcome them
Creative problem-solving methodology as
a systematic approach
Opportunity delineation and problem
definition
Compiling relevant information
Generating ideas
Evaluating and prioritizing ideas
Development of an implementation plan
Written and verbal communication skills
Demonstration of key elements of the
creative process
Use of team as a creative resource
Systematic application of creative process
model
Evidence of creativity within chosen
environment

Focus on the process of

creativity
Individual project, report and
learning portfolio
Assessment feedback
mechanism
Student reflection and learning
Team as a creative resource
Team project and learning
portfolio

Definitions of meanings
and perceptions
Left/right brain competencies
Mind mapping
Positive and negative creative
environments and cause factors
Belbin model
Barriers to creativity
Team exercises, feedback and
discussion
Individual application to project
Creative problem-solving
techniques
Team application to project

Which
Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

Stimulates and develops

certain kinds of
organizational behaviour
Which
Positively impacts on
creative and
entrepreneurial
behaviour

610

In
1112
University, business and
social environments.

Assessment feedback
mechanism
Student reflection and learning
re: process and effectiveness
of individual and team creativity

Team project presentations

Page 150

Activities

10:28 am

Assignments

27/5/03

Concepts

4(2)

Session

AC T I V E L E A R N I N G I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

150

Class ethos

03 Morrison (to/d)

Table 2

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 151

MORRISON

&

J O H N S T O N : P E R S O N A L C R E AT I V I T Y

model, which details class ethos, concepts introduced, assignments set, and
class activities undertaken.
Significantly, it encapsulates findings (Gibb, 1996) that perceive the
need for the creation of a powerful learning environment, with students
as active, self-managing, agents therein. This is reflected in the class ethos
that is articulated and clearly communicated to students in sessions 1 and
2 as: a creative learning organization, which stimulates and develops certain kinds of organizational behaviour, which positively impacts on creative and entrepreneurial behaviour in
University, business and social environments. The notion of the class as a learning
organization is important, and this frequently represents a stark contrast
for students. In the main, they are familiar with higher education classes
realized by linear sequences of lecture-based teaching, tutorial discussion
and end-point examination in response to that teaching. This may
constrain the initiative and creative thinking of individuals. In sessions 3
and 4, students are further engaged in the learning process through reflection on what makes some organizational environments more creative in
comparison with others, what factors tend to inhibit creativity, and how
these factors can be overcome. As a consequence, at an early stage of the
class, the students become explicitly aware of the role of the environment
(external and in-class) in stimulating personal creativity and the importance of actively engaging with it towards the enhancement of selfmanaged learning.
Student/lecturer communication and assignment mechanisms generate
a constant stream of data. This facilitates: the monitoring of class effectiveness; flexibility and rapid response to students learning needs; and
insights that can be incorporated in future class design, which the lecturers may not have previously considered. One major implication of this
approach to teaching practice tends to arise at the mid-point of the class.
Student self-confidence, independence and personal creative abilities
flourish within a relaxed and supportive environment, more closely allied
to the working style of professionals than the behaviours of conventional
classrooms, which has been established throughout sessions 1 to 6. This
is augmented by the development of a team spirit within the class that
comes to recognize the power of the group as an important creative
resource. Therefore, at this point and following student/lecturer
discussion and negotiation, it is normally agreed that the degree of lecturer
control should be diminished, allowing a higher level of student selfmanagement. Effectively, this takes the form of passing class management
and responsibility of session 7 to 12 to the students, alongside which the
lecturers run a series of consultations with each project team in a separate
seminar room. Thus, the role of the lecturer is not one of controlled
disseminator of knowledge, but is concerned with learning facilitation and
151

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 152

AC T I V E L E A R N I N G I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

4(2)

co-ordination. In this respect, Kapoor (1999) identifies a basic component

of human nature that is vital in the establishment and sustenance of the
relationship, quite simply, as caring. This is perhaps an indication of the
substantial personal, as well as professional, skills and investment that are
required from the lecturers to support teaching practice in this
instance.

Teaching and learning strategies

Typically, those persons predisposed to act in an entrepreneurial manner are
depicted as possessing certain personality traits including: creativity; easily
bored; independent nature; leadership aspirations; risk-taking propensity;
self-motivation; and self-realization through action (Chell et al., 1991;
McClelland, 1961; Schumpeter, 1934). Couger (1996: 81) augments this
profile from a personal creativity perspective in stating that: a capacity for
childlike wonder, carried into adult life, typifies the creative person. These
individuals are concerned with the initiation of change through creativity
and innovation, and entrepreneurial behaviour. Clearly such persons are
likely to possess an active-oriented learning style, and this is highly relevant
within the context of the case study where the students have self-selected
to participate in the class elective. It is therefore logical that teaching and
learning strategies should be designed and implanted into the class that
appeal to primarily activist learners. Consequently, within the context of the
learning organization the student/lecturer relationship is of a highly interactive nature. Learning is seen as a collective and experiential affair, stimulated through students being encouraged to continuously seek an active,
creative, collaboration with lecturers and peers. In effect, students are
learning how to learn within a supportive organizational setting. When
students express difficulty in accommodating to this learning style it is
discussed. They are reassured that such feelings are valid, and a transitional
strategy is evolved. For example, when students have difficulty accepting
that their own ideas are valuable or that other students can be as critical a
resource as lecturers, a typical response is to reassure them by reference
back to the class objectives and reference forward to the realities of workplace and entrepreneurial situations.
In addition, through the class content framework (Table 3), the lecturers briefly introduce the students to the concepts, techniques and frameworks, which could be applied to the process of personal creativity at
different stages of entrepreneurship. They are then applied by students
through small group discussion and exercises. A deliberate strategy is to
give more time to the students voices than those of the lecturers. Furthermore, it is considered important that the student group dynamics build into
152

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 153

MORRISON

Table 3

&

J O H N S T O N : P E R S O N A L C R E AT I V I T Y

Class content

Session

Content

Why is the skill of personal creativity of value in todays world of leisure

and work? Definition of the class, overview, learning approaches,
methods of assessments, and introduction to class participation.
What are some of the theories and techniques designed to stimulate
the creative process, which can be learned and applied?
Do some environments stimulate creative teams more than others?
Setting the climate for team creativity, and how the benefits can be
maximized within a supportive environment. Models such as the ABC
of Creativity and Belbin are introduced.
What are some conceptual and emotional barriers that make people
less creative? How can they be removed or overcome?
Creative problem-solving (CPS) methodology as a systematic approach
which can be learned and applied is introduced (Couger, 1996).
Techniques such as PO, and mess spider are discussed.
CPS Step One: Problem/opportunity definition identification using the
range of appropriate techniques.
CPS Step Two: What information do we need to progress the problem/
opportunity ideas? Definition and understanding of different soft and
hard data types.
CPS Step Three: Idea generation approaches and techniques designed
to solve the problem/exploit the opportunity. Reflection on the range of
techniques used to date.
CPS Step Four: Evaluating and prioritizing ideas. Introduction of
appropriate techniques e.g. De Bonos Six Hats.
CPS Step Five: Development of an implementation plan.
Team Presentations: each team presents the outcomes of the CPS
process.

2
3

4
5

6
7

9
10
11 & 12

cohesive, supportive and productive teams, thus activities are designed to

achieve such outcomes (see Table 2). In addition, team feedback sessions
perform four key functions: an open forum for suggestions of what helps
or hinders teamwork; an opportunity for student reflection on, and
evaluation of, the process of creativity; personal presentation and
communication skills are practised; and generation of valuable data from
which lecturers can evaluate the effectiveness of learning experience and
respond accordingly. Learning assignments utilized include student reflection, development of an individual learning portfolio, and team liaison to
support project development and presentation. Lecturers explicitly and
consistently encourage freedom of expression and thought and offer tips
153

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 154

AC T I V E L E A R N I N G I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

4(2)

on how to manage group discussion to maximize potential to generate,

expand and evaluate ideas. In effect the lecturers classroom role is largely
that of a mediator and process consultant. This role shift is openly discussed
and explained to the students in terms of facilitating their self-management
and awareness of creative processes. In combination, these approaches serve
to raise associated issues in, underpin, progress, reinforce and deepen the
degree of student learning achieved.
As would be expected, the modes of assessment are integrated into the
overall approach to the class, and aim to break down the conventional
boundary between assessment, teaching and learning. Assessment consists
of two self-directed projects, the first is individual and the second a team
assignment, requiring a written report for both and a team presentation to
the class and active entrepreneurs for the second. The assignments need
students to identify a commercial, entrepreneurial opportunity or problem
and progress a response by applying the creativity techniques introduced
in the class. They also highlight the importance of personal responsibility
and self-management of all aspects of a complex and socialized thinking
process. Student mini-presentations of work in progress and exercises in
using techniques are given in class to build confidence, give formative
feedback and introduce and refine creativity concepts. This is done in an
atmosphere of encouragement and mutual support, and students are
encouraged to comment on each others presentations and to adopt a
collegiate and communal approach to participation. Thus students are
facilitated to experience an assessable assignment as a positive and formative process.
The assignment report format requires students to not only explain their
ideas and describe any solutions, but also to discuss and evaluate the
thinking and team-working processes entailed, and their experience of
using creativity techniques both individually and in groups. This reflective
element encourages students to express themselves in terms of their
personal experiences of frustration, insight and evaluation of ideas, techniques and situations, and to develop self-awareness rather than simply
distil a conventional business report from lectures, textbooks and other
sources. Lecturers assess student work holistically and give each assignment
a mark and feedback in relation to class objectives in terms of factors such
as: clarity of expression; appropriateness of the entrepreneurial opportunity
and its commercial development; and awareness of process issues in using
creativity techniques and working collaboratively. Detailed written and
verbal feedback is provided for each assignment so those students are able
to consider the lecturers views, ask for clarification and incorporate this
formative feedback into future work.
154

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 155

MORRISON

Table 4

&

J O H N S T O N : P E R S O N A L C R E AT I V I T Y

Class effectiveness

Category

Responses

Student Learning

Activities such as teamwork, practical tasks, presentations,

open class discussion, and general high level of
participation were found to help concentration,
understanding, maintain motivation and improve
presentation skills. Additional factors enhancing the
process included: learning to be creative and innovative
through fun and humour, and the element of freedom from
the lecturers given in developing the team project.
Learning Environment Teaching atmosphere and physical layout were informal,
easy-going and relaxed, with no barriers to creativity. This
enabled students to feel confident in speaking their mind,
and stimulated freedom of thought.
Teaching Practice
Lecturers were friendly, informal, highly communicative,
professional, approachable and personally involved. This
resulted in a good rapport with the students. Consequently,
the students were relaxed and receptive to learning about
creative approaches. In addition, the teaching team, each
with different styles and inputs, was identified as a positive
influence on the class.
Class Outcome
The strongest class outcome was identified as increased
levels of self-confidence. In particular, this was related to
abilities to teamwork, application of creative techniques to
problem-solving/opportunity recognition, development and
implementation of entrepreneurial ideas, and capability to
communicate through improved presentation skills. It was
recognized that all these elements had the potential to
combine to personal and career advantage.

Conclusions
In the final session of the class, students are asked to complete an exit questionnaire, which poses four key questions generating qualitative responses.
An example of the responses has been analysed relative to the categories of
student learning, learning environment, teaching practice and class
outcomes. The findings are presented in Table 4 and provide an indication
of the considerable effectiveness of the class from the perspectives of a
student group.
Thus, it is proposed that this case study of one class (Entrepreneurship:Personal
Creativity) in action provides an example that makes creative thinking and
155

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 156

AC T I V E L E A R N I N G I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

4(2)

its linkage to entrepreneurship explicit in terms of: class objectives; design

of the teaching support and delivery; learning styles; and general teaching
practice. It is depicted as a form of educational organization that emphasizes objectives for student learning as thinking, doing, reflecting, understanding and knowledge creation, rather than listening, memorizing and
knowledge perpetuation. Also, significant value lies in the self-confidence
and team building that generally occurs throughout. Specifically, the use of
an open system approach to learning design enables structure, flexibility
and innovation, and incorporates the synergy of a creative team of lecturers and students in the process. A powerful, challenging and enjoyable
learning environment can be established that recognizes the role of the
students as primarily active, but nevertheless reflective, self-managing
agents, and the lecturer as a caring, co-ordinator and facilitator. These
characteristics normally result in a high level of rapport and what one
student described as the Us Spirit, in that there exists a unity of purpose
with all participants (lecturers and students alike) working as one towards
the achievement of the class objectives, and ultimate personal and
professional development.
That said, the potential for tension between creativity as a general mode
of living, and creativity as a factor in entrepreneurial, commercial success,
is an issue that may warrant some further attention in order to clarify the
implications for explicit treatment of creativity in a higher education course
of study. At the simplest level the application of creativity techniques such
as brainstorming, mind mapping and team working to generate and
progress business ideas can be introduced in the classroom and justified on
the grounds that such practices are important skills relevant to learning,
employment and entrepreneurial activity. However, creativity is typically
experienced not only as a direct contribution to enterprise, but also in
personal terms that has the potential to enhance the self as manifested in
the worlds of work and life. It is argued that the development of a disposition to learn and communicate and enhanced creativity represent longer
term and sustainable contributions of such a undergraduate class. It pumpprimes the capacity to enrich aspects of a students life and future career,
as it impacts on the maturation of the individuals style of learning and ways
of being.
Finally, in this case study entrepreneurship is used as one, and only one,
context in which to apply the concepts associated with personal creativity.
It is proposed that creativity could usefully be introduced to curricula more
widely and with greater coherence, rather than being ring-fenced into a
stand-alone class. In this way, a balance may be struck between the acquisition of academic disciplinary knowledge and formatively arrived at selfdiscovered knowledge, attaining academic and professional development
156

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 157

MORRISON

&

J O H N S T O N : P E R S O N A L C R E AT I V I T Y

standards desirable to survive and flourish in the worlds of work and life in
the 21st century.

References
A I R E Y, D .

& T R I B E , J . (2000) Education for Hospitality, in C. Lashley & A.

Morrison (eds) In Search of Hospitality: Theoretical Perspectives and Debates. Oxford:
Butterworth-Heinemann.
B L A N C H , G . (1999) Conflicting Concepts of Education: The Crucible of the
Curriculum, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education 11(4): 1316.
C H A S T O N , I . , B A D G E R , B . & S A D L E R - S M I T H , E . (1999) Small Firm Organisational
Learning: Comparing the Perceptions of Need and Style Among UK Support
Service Advisors and Small Firm Managers, Journal of European Industrial Training 23(1):
3643.
C H E L L , E . , H AWO RT H , J . & B R E A R L E Y, S . (1991) The Entrepreneurial Personality.
London: Routledge.
C O U G E R , J . (1996) Creativity and Innovation. Boston: Boyd and Fraser.
C U R R A N , J . & B U R ROW S , R . (1986) Ethnographic Approaches to the Study of the
Small Business Owner, in K. ONeil (ed.) Small Business Development: Some Current Issues.
London: Atheneum Press.
G I B B , A . (1996) Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management: Can We Afford
to Neglect Them in the 21st Century Business School?, British Academy of Management
7: 30921.
J O H N S T O N , B . (2000) The Creative Mind in Higher Education: Who Learns What,
How and Why?, paper presented at the Lifelong Learning Conference, Rydges
Capricorn International, Queensland, Australia, July.
J O H N S T O N , B . & M O R R I S O N , A . (1997) Developing Undergraduate Creative
Thinking for Entrepreneurship: A Pilot Class, paper presented at the International
Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviours Enterprise and Learning Conference, University of
Paisley, UK, September.
K A P O O R , S . (1999) Caring in the Classroom: Innovative Teaching Technique, Journal
of Hospitality & Tourism Education 11(4): 912.
L A S H L E Y, C . (1999) On Making Silk Purses: Developing Reflective Practitioners in
Hospitality Management Education, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management 11(4): 1805.
M C C L E L L A N D , D . (1961) The Achieving Society. New York: Van Nostrand.
M O R R I S O N , A . , ed. (1998) Entrepreneurship: An International Perspective. Oxford:
Butterworth-Heinemann.
S C H U M P E T E R , J . (1934) History of Economic Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.
T I M M O N S , J . (1994) New Venture Creation. Chicago: Irwin.
T O R R A N C E , E . & RO C K E N S T E I N , Z . (1988) Styles of Thinking and Creativity, in R.
Schmeck (ed.) Learning Strategies and Learning Styles. New York: Plenum Press.

Biographical notes
is Reader in Hospitality Management and Director of Research
within Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde. She has edited and
authored five textbooks in the areas of marketing, hospitality, entrepreneurship and
franchising and has published widely in generic business and specialist hospitality
and tourism academic journals.

ALISON MORRISON

157

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014

03 Morrison (to/d)

27/5/03

10:28 am

Page 158

AC T I V E L E A R N I N G I N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

4(2)

Address: The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, 94 Cathedral Street,

Glasgow G4 0LG, UK. [email: alison.j.Morrison@strath.ac.uk]
B I L L J O H N S T O N is a Lecturer in the Centre for Academic Practice at the University of
Strathlcyde. He specializes in curriculum development, with a particular interest in
developing innovative approaches to student learning and teaching practice.
Address: Centre for Academic Practice, University of Strathclyde, George Street,
Glasgow G1 1XQ, UK. [email: b.johnston@strath.ac.uk]

158

Downloaded from alh.sagepub.com by mdrs mslm on October 28, 2014