Al-Azhar University Students’ Perceptions about Staff Members’ Academic Practices Fostering Creativity in a Changing Knowledge World

Fostering creativity is a central concern for educational policymakers and professionals. It involves equipping teachers and students with the skills to meet the challenges of the future. To achieve this, educators must develop creative skills that encourage students'  creativity and raise awareness of the significance of creative teaching. This necessitates educators staying abreast of contemporary knowledge on creativity, including recent theories, technologies, and cutting-edge strategies, in addition to demonstrating diligence and motivation. They must also be encouraged to employ and refine creative teaching methods within their respective fields of expertise. Furthermore, educators require support within an enriching educational environment that enables them to implement academic practices conducive to nurturing creativity. This study aimed to explore the academic practices of university staff members that support creativity from the perspective of Al-Azhar University students. Additionally, it seeks to identify whether students' perceptions differ based on their academic specialization (scientific, literate, generic). The study encompassed 454 final-year students from the Faculty of Education for Boys at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, with 199 students from the scientific section, 176 from the literate section, and 79 from the generic section. To achieve these objectives, the researchers developed and utilized a scale to gauge students' perceptions of university staff members' academic practices that promote creativity. Results revealed that the academic practices of the university teacher that support creativity, as seen by the students, were in the following order: (motivating participation - self-confidence when performing the work - making objective judgments - encouraging self-assessment - encouraging group work - focused confrontation towards different situations - preferring challenge - providing opportunities - encouraging independence - flexibility in dealing) Moreover, the results show no statistically significant difference in students' perceptions based on their academic specialization. This suggests that, regardless of their field of study, students generally share similar perceptions about the significance of university staff members' academic practices that foster creativity.