Research on creative learning and innovation is critical for enhancing European uniqueness, fruitfulness and competitiveness in globalized contexts. Innovation includes learning methodologies, practices, systems and applications. This research puts its focus on how such innovative practice can be rolled out to improve creative competencies of learners and students.
The study concentrates on the analysis of the impact of creative learning. In addition, the emphasis is put on the environmental factors of learning contexts in order to identify those factors that support and those that hinder learners´ creativity and innovation.
We know that the innovative and creative capabilities are not new in humans, as they are fundamental elements to their nature. What is new, from our point of view, is the meaning and significance that both concepts acquire in the context of global change in today's society.
Thus, while in industrial societies solutions to the problems were, or appeared to be previously produced, and the competence of people consisted of knowing how to apply the right option (technical view), in the present-day society, problems are unpredictable and without previous responses, and the competences of people should be about solving those satisfactorily. To this we must add the current context, shaped by a crisis not seen since the 1930s and a reformulation of the socio-economic paradigm.
It is in this context in which the human capabilities of learning, creating and innovating acquire a new relevance on the social dimension. Learning becomes the key to today's society because it is, ultimately, a society willing to learn and to cope with the changes. We can consider it, therefore, a creative and innovative society.
The main objective of this research is to understand the conditions under which we can improve creative competences as well as to promote the culture of creativity and innovation in vocational education. By identifying these key factors and conditions, and by testing them in new educational settings, the research seeks best practices for promoting creative learning whose results can serve as the basis for recommendations.
In this research we understand Creativity as a human ability (with ontological, cognitive and social bases) to produce new ideas and to solve problems in different ways. This capability develops in close interaction with the context and is associated with the ability to learn in changing environments.
On the other side, we understand Innovation as a successful response to the needs of social nature, defined in terms of greater equity, sustainability and equal opportunities, including both those economics that respond to the logic of the market and competitiveness, and those of higher rank which seek to achieve desirable social goals.
Finally, Learning becomes the key to today's society because it is, ultimately, a society willing to learn and to cope with changes. We can consider it, therefore, a creative and innovative society.
