Parents’ Roles and the Creative Potentials of Primary School Pupils in Ekiti State, Nigeria

This study investigated parents’ roles and the creative potentials of primary school pupils in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive research of the survey type. The population consisted of all the primary school pupils in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A purposive random sampling technique was used to select a total of three hundred and fifty (350) respondents from Ado Local Government (the state capital). The instrument used for data collection for the study was a self-designed questionnaire. The face and content validity of the instrument was ensured by experts in creativity and childhood education, while the reliability of the instrument was also determined using test-retest method which yielded reliability coefficient of 0.72. Data collected were analyzed using frequency count and percentage. On creative potentials of the pupils, the study found that the pupils engaged in activities that made them potentially creative. The study also revealed that parents’ thoughts influenced the creativity of their children, but the level of encouragement was not high; most especially when they engaged in drawing. It was therefore recommended that the ministry of education should lay emphasis on the importance of creativity in all primary schools because encouraging creativity from childhood is essentially the milestone in the development of creative thinkers and innovators to adulthood. Also, parents were advised on the need to provide drawing materials for their children and to also encourage and motivate the creative ones.