Shawn Glass

Research Literature Critique

Introduction: In the article that I read the researchers were investigating the relationship
between migration to urban settings and childrens creative inclinations. This was done in two
parts. In the first part the researchers compared scores on measures of creative inclinations
among migrant, rural and urban children, and of children of varying migration durations. The
second part of the study analyzed factors that are potentially between the effects of migration
duration on children and their creative inclinations. My critique focused on the study and results
of part one of the study.
Method: The study consisted of 875 (originally 909) fifth and sixth grade students in China, the
table shows how the demographic of the children was divided.
Migrant Children Rural Children Urban Children Sum
Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
Fifth 150 102 64 65 35 36 249 203
Sixth 104 70 75 80 39 55 218 205
Sum 245 172 139 145 74 91 467 408
Total 426 284 165 875

For the study of migrant children four schools in Beijing were used, three being schools designed
for migrant students and one being a public school. Of the migrant children the average age was
11.4 and 12.7 years old.
For the study of rural children two regular schools were used. Of the rural children the average
age was 12.1and 13.3 years old.
For the study of urban children two public schools were used. Of the urban children the average
age was 11.2 and 12.9 years old.
What was used to measure the creative inclination of the children was a Chinese variation of
Williams Creativity Packet. This comprised of three components: divergent thinking, divergent
feeling and Williams Evaluation Scale. The article also went into detail as to what the divergent
feeling comprised of, which was 50 items and for dimensions (imagination, curiosity, risk-taking
and complexity). And last a self-assessment measuring the same four dimensions listed above.
Results: For the first part of the study the results are shown in the table below. What the
researcher found was that the Urban children clearly had an advantage over both the Rural and
Migrant children and also that there was no detectable difference between the Rural and Migrant
children. The researchers also found that girls scored higher than that of the boys and that the
sixth graders scored higher than that of the fifth graders
Fifth Grade Sixth Grade Sum
Male Female Male Female Fifth grade Sixth Grade
Migrant 108.91 109.81 107.99 109.46 109.27 108.58
Rural 105.94 108.57 112.39 111.73 107.26 112.05
Urban 114.97 121.28 118.41 117.18 118.17 117.69
Shawn Glass

Sum 109.00 111.45 111.37 112.41 110.10 111.87

Conclusion: The researchers concluded that the migration of a child from a rural setting to an
urban setting would produce positive outcomes in the area of the child developing creative
inclinations. This was based on two key points, first is that a child in a rural setting does not have
the same educational resources as one would in an urban setting and second because of the
subcultural differences between the two social contexts. The researchers also claim that in an
urban environment one is encouraged in individuality and to pursue ones imagination, whereas
the rural culture holds its values in one completing his/hers duties.
In their conclusion the researchers gave several possible explanations for the mixed results. One
explanation was the overrepresentation of girls to boys for the urban and rural groups while they
were underrepresented in the migrant group. The significance of this was that girls of all three
groups scored higher than their counterparts and thus possibly affecting the results of the migrant
group. They also give explain that the difference in scores could be due to Chinas educational
system for it requires more from migrant students who are working for a place in public school
(one that is not guaranteed), whereas both rural and urban students do not face the same pressure.

Implications: I found this article to be important to teachers especially us here in Arizona given
the large immigrant population. Many student come from rural villages in Mexico before
migrating here to the United States. With the Phoenix metro area being a fairly large urban
setting I believe it is important that we as educators know that these children have the capacity to
become very creative and need the support.
References
Shi, B., Lu, Y., Dai, D. Y., & Lin, C. (2013). Relationships between migration to urban settings and
children's creative inclinations. Creativity Research Journal, 25(3), 300-311.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2013.813793