TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS PROBLEM-SOLVING TASKS AS A MEANS OF DEVELOPING CREATIVITY IN PRIMARY MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

Abstract

Creativity is increasingly recognised as an important dimension of mathematics education, particularly when pupils are encouraged to explore, formulate and solve problems in different ways. This study examines teachers’ attitudes towards problem-solving tasks as a means of developing creativity in primary mathematics education. The empirical research was conducted in December of the 2024/2025 school year and included 46 teachers from grades one to five in three schools within the JU OŠ “Jovan Dučić” school network in the Banja Luka area. A questionnaire was used to examine teachers’ attitudes towards the presence and frequency of creativity-oriented problem-solving tasks in mathematics textbooks and classroom practice, the use of open- and closed-ended tasks, the contribution of mathematics teaching and problem-solving tasks to creativity development, the importance of professional development, instructional guidance, and the role of textbooks. The data were processed using MS Excel 2019 and IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2. Descriptive procedures and chi-square tests were applied to analyse the obtained data. The results revealed statistically significant differences in teachers’ responses concerning the frequency of using creativity-oriented problem-solving tasks, the perceived contribution of mathematics teaching and problem-solving tasks to creativity development, the use of open- and closed-ended tasks, professional development, and the role of mathematics textbooks. No statistically significant differences were found regarding teachers’ perceptions of the presence of creativity-oriented problem-solving tasks in textbooks or the usefulness of instructional guidance. The qualitative analysis of examples provided by teachers further indicated difficulties in distinguishing genuinely open-ended problems from routine and non-routine structured tasks. The findings indicate that positive attitudes towards creativity need to be accompanied by stronger methodological competencies and systematic professional development. Particular attention should be given to the design and implementation of open-ended and cognitively demanding problem-solving tasks that encourage pupils to use different strategies, generate ideas, and develop creative mathematical thinking.