Enhancing creative teaching behaviour of vocational school teachers: structural equation modelling analysis

Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn) Vol. 19, No. 1, February 2025, pp. 221~231 ISSN: 2089-9823 DOI: 10.11591/edulearn.v19i1.21812  221 Enhancing creative teaching behavior of vocational school teachers: structural equation modeling analysis Agusti G. Tamrin1, Mochamad Bruri Triyono2, Ida Nugroho Saputro1, Taufiq Lilo Adi Sucipto1, Lise Asnur3 1 Department of Building Engineering Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Solo, Indonesia 2 Department of Technology and Vocational Education, Graduate School, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 3 Department of Hotel Management, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia Article Info ABSTRACT Article history: Creative teaching behavior (CTB) is an innovative and creative teaching approach that is relevant in facing the dynamics of vocational education, which continues to develop, especially to produce creative students. Many studies examine the important role of CTB. However, limited information still discusses how to improve CTB by involving important factors such as creative climate, school support, and creative teaching self-efficacy. This study involved 400 teachers from 25 vocational high schools in civil engineering in Central Java Province, and data analysis using the structural equation modeling (SEM) (Smart-PLS) method. The study results revealed that CTB was proven to be influenced positively and significantly by school support and creative teaching self-efficacy. Also, creative teaching selfefficacy partially mediates the effect of creative climate and school support on CTB. The results of this study provide important implications for vocational school teachers to develop creative teaching skills in schools. Building a creative culture in schools, proactive school support and increasing teacher self-confidence are essential steps in creating a dynamic and innovative learning environment in vocational schools. Received Jan 31, 2024 Revised Mar 31, 2024 Accepted May 18, 2024 Keywords: Creative climate Creative teaching behavior School support Self-efficacy Vocational teacher This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license. Corresponding Author: Agusti G. Tamrin Department of Building Engineering Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education Universitas Sebelas Maret Ir. Sutami St. 36 Kentingan, Jebres, Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia Email: 1. INTRODUCTION Mastery of creative thinking skills will become increasingly important due to technological advances, globalization, and the complexity of challenges faced by society [1], [2]. Creative thinking is one of the 21st-century skills that teachers and schools should focus on [3]–[5], especially in vocational high schools. In a constantly changing world, students who think creatively can face unexpected situations with flexibility and innovation [1], [3], [6]. By thinking creatively, individuals can become effective problem solvers and innovators who can overcome complex challenges in the future. Therefore, preparing vocational school students to have creative thinking skills and create innovative products is an important goal of the education and training process [7]. The process of cultivating students' creative thinking skills is very dependent on the quality of teaching carried out by the teacher. The basic question is, do teachers have creative teaching behavior when they teach? The important role of creative teaching behavior (CTB) for teachers cannot be underestimated, especially in facing future technological developments [8]–[11]. Teachers who apply creative teaching Journal homepage: http://edulearn.intelektual.org 222  ISSN: 2089-9823 approaches can challenge students to think outside conventional boundaries, create an inspiring learning environment, and encourage students' abilities to solve problems in innovative ways [12]. Previous studies state that teachers' CTB can increase students' capacity to generate innovative ideas and solve problems [13]–[15]. Teacher CTB refers to cultivating intentional creative thinking and behavior in students through educational methods [16]. Teachers with CTB can be a catalyst for cultivating these skills, allowing students to explore new ideas, develop innovative projects, and learn through practical experiences. Various studies have been conducted to analyze factors related to teacher CTB. Previous studies have identified several factors related to teacher CTB; these factors include creative teaching self-efficacy [8], [9], [17], principals' transformative leadership and school innovative climate [15], [18], and school support [8], [17]. Although scholars have devoted much attention to teaching creativity, many obstacles prevent teachers from implementing CTB effectively in their practice [12], [19]. Teachers' implementation of creative teaching often faces several problems that can affect its effectiveness. One of the main problems is the pressure to achieve academic targets, which often encourages teachers to prioritize traditional teaching approaches and focus on mastering standardized exam material [20]. This can hinder teachers from providing space for creative activities that require more time and have results that may not be immediately measurable. In addition, a lack of resources and support from educational institutions can also be an obstacle, such as limited access to special training for creative teaching or a lack of support in the form of adequate facilities or learning materials [17]. In addition, previous studies discussing CTB have limitations in connecting in an integrated manner between environmental factors and creative teaching self-efficacy. Therefore, it is important to analyze the factors that encourage CTB development for teachers, including environmental factors (for example, creative climate and school support) and creative teaching self-efficacy. Previous studies state that school climate fosters CTB [10]. A positive, inclusive, and supportive school environment provides a solid foundation for educators to develop and implement creative teaching strategies. Meanwhile, other studies prove that school resources and support influence teachers' CTB [17]. Strong school support, such as specialized training, adequate learning resources, and collaboration platforms between teachers, can significantly encourage educators to adopt more creative teaching methods. Another important factor that plays a role in encouraging increased creative teaching behavior for teachers is creative teaching self-efficacy [8], [17]. Although the importance of school climate, school support, and creative teaching self-efficacy in fostering creativity and facilitating teacher growth has been acknowledged, a shortage of theories examines how creative climate, school support, and creative teaching self-efficacy influence CTB for vocational school teachers. This study examines the effects of creat (...truncated)