Unlocking students’ creative confidence through design thinking practices : A parallel mediation of collaboration and diversity, and creativity

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Iddris, Faisal and Agyapong, Kingsley and Kparl, Emmanuel Mensah and Mensah, Philip Opoku (2026) Unlocking students’ creative confidence through design thinking practices : A parallel mediation of collaboration and diversity, and creativity. Active Learning in Higher Education. ISSN 1469-7874 (https://doi.org/10.1177/14697874261437051)

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Abstract

Despite the consensus in the literature that design thinking practices spark innovation, research has yet to examine the creative confidence outcomes of design thinking practices. Integrating the Resource-Based Theory and the Componential Theory of Creativity, we hypothesised a parallel mediation model in which design thinking practices are associated with creative confidence via collaboration and diversity, and creativity. Based on a sample of 419 tertiary students in a Ghanaian University, it was found that design thinking facilitates students’ creative confidence. Also, collaboration and diversity partially mediate the relationship between design thinking and creative confidence. The study also found support for the mediating effect of creativity. The findings underscore the importance of integrating design thinking principles into educational curricula to cultivate a culture of innovation and prepare students for the challenges of the 21st-century workforce.

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