Creative Thinking and Its Relationship with Levels of Aspiration amongst a Sample of Secondary School Students — at the Centre for Gifted Students in Ajdabiya

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between creative thinking and levels of aspiration amongst secondary school pupils, as well as to identify differences in creative thinking and levels of aspiration that may be attributed to the variables of gender (male/female) and age. The research sample consisted of 24 students (12 male and 12 female). To achieve the research objectives, the researcher utilised two main instruments: the Creative Thinking Scale and the Aspiration Level Scale. The psychometric properties of the instruments were verified; face validity was assessed by presenting the instruments to a group of specialist reviewers, and their suitability for application to the research sample was also confirmed. After data collection, the data were entered and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). A range of appropriate statistical methods were employed in the study, such as the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and the t-test. The most significant findings of the study are as follows: 1. There is a statistically significant positive correlation between creative thinking and the level of ambition in the research sample, with a correlation coefficient of (0.554) at a significance level of (0.050). 2. Higher levels of creative thinking and higher levels of aspiration were found in the research sample, with the ‘t’ value for creative thinking being 192.904 at a significance level of 0.000, and the ‘t’ value for the level of aspiration being 149.126 at a significance level of 0.000 3. There were no statistically significant differences in creative thinking or level of ambition attributable to the gender variable (male/female), as the ‘t’ value for creative thinking was (-1.872) at a significance level of 0.690, and the ‘t’ value for level of aspiration was (2.225) at a significance level of (0.176). 4. There were no statistically significant differences in creative thinking and level of aspiration attributable to the age variable.