Reimagining Teacher Education: Embedding Creativity to Strengthen Agency, Resilience, and Identity

Arts Council of Wales is supporting a new international research project, Empowering pre-service teachers through collective creative pedagogies led by Dr Lisa Stephenson, Carnegie School of Education, Leeds Beckett University with partners across eight universities worldwide, including Swansea University. Project partners are working together to design and test creative ways of teaching that help new teachers develop social-emotional understanding, ethical awareness and confidence in their practice.

For Arts Council of Wales, this work builds directly on its Creative Learning Cymru programme; innovative national pathways that use the arts to support teaching across all subjects, from maths and science to numeracy and citizenship. Since 2015, Creative Learning Cymru has collaborated with over 90% of schools in Wales; engaged almost 400,000 learners; trained over 7,600 teaching professionals and almost 4,000 creative professionals.

International research from the project consortium shows that trainee teachers often lack confidence in their creativity, mirroring a wider loss of identity in the teaching profession. This project is designed to help rebuild both. By embedding collective creativity into teacher education, the project aims to develop agency, resilience, and professional identity in future teachers.

The programme emphasises that creativity is not an add-on—it is a mindset that helps teachers engage learners in meaningful, authentic ways, boosting engagement and outcomes. This approach aligns with Welsh Government priorities and supports national policy ambitions for education.

This three-year action research programme will explore and test how creative teaching methods could strengthen the social and emotional dispositions and creative pedagogies of trainee teachers—helping them to become confident, ethical, and responsive educators.

Dafydd Rhys, Chief Executive of Arts Council of Wales said: “This programme places creativity at the heart of teacher education. It ensures that future teachers across Wales and beyond are equipped with the skills, confidence, and agency to inspire learners, while strengthening the role of the arts in education at every stage.”

The project responds to urgent challenges: youth mental health, teacher recruitment and retention, and the need for stronger life skills.

Dr Lisa Stephenson, Leeds Beckett University, Principal Investigator said: “This research is desperately needed to empower our pre‑service teachers with responsive, pedagogical practices- we are extremely excited to bring international expertise together within the consortium. The project will launch a first phase of research, aiming to lay a pathway for meaningful education change in teacher education.”

It will pilot new methods in 2025–26 with Swansea University and other international partners, before expanding to all ITE providers in Wales by Year 3.

The partners involved in this important project are:

• Dr Helen Lewis (Swansea University, Wales)
• Dr Lesley Emerson (Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland)
• Dr Deirdre McGillicuddy (University College Dublin, Ireland)
• Dr Navan Govander (University of Strathclyde, Scotland)
• Miss Naomi Lord (Director, Creatives Now)

“We are thrilled to be co‑funding this pilot year of international action research. We need to be driving change at a national policy level to ensure creativity is cultivated across the curriculum; from initial teacher education to professional learning and leadership development.”

For Wales, the benefits are clear:

• Positioning Creative Learning Cymru at the forefront of global education research.
• Creating opportunities for Welsh arts professionals to co‑design and co‑deliver ITE modules, strengthening the arts and education sectors.
• Ensuring long‑term legacy, with creative practitioners embedded in teacher training across Wales.
• Informing the next phase of Creative Learning beyond 2028, supporting sustainability and impact.

Feedback from trainee teachers and their placement schools will directly shape curriculum content, initially in Expressive Arts and Health and Wellbeing, before being extended across all Areas of Learning.