Fostering Creativity through Project-Based Learning in Chinese Upper-Secondary Arts Schools: A Practice-Informed Mechanism–Context Framework

Creativity is a central goal of contemporary art education, yet design teaching in some Chinese upper-secondary arts schools remains strongly shaped by technical training, exemplar imitation, and final-product assessment. Such practices can support foundational skills while leaving limited space for problem finding, divergent ideation, autonomous decision-making, trial-and-error, and iterative refinement. This practice-informed conceptual study examines how project-based learning (PBL) may foster creativity in Chinese upper-secondary arts schools. Drawing on recent literature on PBL, creativity, visual arts education, design-based learning, and secondary art education, the paper develops a mechanism–context framework that links five PBL teaching features to five creative learning mechanisms and expected creativity outcomes. The framework proposes that authenticity supports problem finding and reframing; openness supports divergent thinking and multiple-solution generation; inquiry and autonomy support independent decision-making and trial-and-error; collaboration supports perspective collision and idea expansion; and product-feedback cycles support reflection, revision, and iteration. Creativity is conceptualized as a dynamic capability encompassing originality, fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and contextual appropriateness. Teacher scaffolding, psychological safety, formative assessment, and time-space-resource conditions are specified as path-relevant contextual supports, while assessment pressure, curriculum structure, teacher-authority norms, and school culture are treated as hypothesized institutional boundary conditions rather than universal characteristics of Chinese schooling. Three authentic teaching projects—campus poster design, campus wayfinding redesign, and campus IP mascot and merchandise development—are used as illustrative practice examples rather than empirical tests. The study explicitly distinguishes literature-supported claims, author-generated theoretical propositions, and practice-based illustration, thereby clarifying what is empirically grounded and what requires future validation through empirical research in varied school settings.

project-based learning, art high school, art and design education, creativity, creative learning

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