Shivani Agarwal,

Assistant Professor, Deptt. Of Social Work, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad.

 

Women in our society have so far enjoyed a secondary status and the economic dependence of women upon men is one of the primary reasons which has pushed them into the background and resulted into their secondary status both within and outside the family. In spite of the fact that the women have proved their mettle in every walk of life, their contribution is not given due credit in most cases. In India women constitute nearly half of the total population and they play a vital role in forming 50% of India’s GDP (NCEUS 2008) through their unrecognized contribution in the Rural & Urban economy. Of the 400 million people working in the unorganized sector, 120 million are women. Thus, the present paper is an attempt to highlight the increased vulnerability of women in the unorganized sector and bringing to front a critical analysis of how the regulations are restrained from creating a violence free workplace in a sector that is scattered and fragmented. There are number of provisions brought in through policies and legislations by the government which is further objectified through the five year plans. However, certain loopholes and gaps in the theoretical and the practical perspective restrict it from “Make it Happen”. Therefore, the paper will basically emphasize on the security provisions for prevention etc in the workplaces in unorganized sector and public places.

Key Words: Legislations, Prevention, Security, Unorganized Sector, Workplace.

Dr. Mani Joshi

Assistant Professor (B.Ed.)

D.A.K. P.G. College, Moradabad

Universities are the ‘light house’ of the society and teachers are ‘torch bearers’ to bring social change. Every year girls do better than boys in science and arts in the class X and XII examination. Majority of the top achievers are girls. There are several reasons which indicate that they used to make pragmatic choices about their future because they were conditioned to believe that marriage and family come first. But now in India great concern is being shown regarding career for them in different spheres nurturing their talent by providing various options.

To empower women, it is necessary that they should have control over decisions which affect their lives. Through empowerment they can control their resources as knowledge, information and financial resources. This can lead them to become stake holder among the human capital and their presence in the society will be accepted.

Women are under-represented in science, mathematics and engineering fields and are an under-utilized pool of talent and resource as they comprise more than half of the population of any society and could contribute towards the social and economic development of societies through participation in science and technology programmes.  The study done in INSA (Indian National Science Academy) revealed dissatisfaction of most respondents regarding professional growth and career advancement due to lack of time, household responsibilities, ill-health and lack of encouragement from the organizations. The study suggested that remedial measures should be taken to improve women’s participation need to become priority in policy making.

Some barriers which prevent women’s participation in decision making are limited access to higher education, discriminatory appointment and promotion practices, dual stresses of family and professional roles, family attitudes, career interruptions, alienation from the male culture and continued resistance to women in management / higher positions, inadequate policies and legislation to ensure the participation of women.

To empower the women in higher education they should be given equal representation, their unique perceptions and strength should be properly utilized, they should be allowed to participate in policy-making and decision making, women friendly policies should be formulated, selection committees should be sensitized for non-sexist interviewing, there should be relaxation on their age-limit and length of experience and a directory of qualified women should be kept.

According to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, gender discrimination can be minimized if due importance is given to physiological, social, safety, self-esteem and self-actualization of women.

Women can empower themselves in higher education by developing effective networks of information and influence, acquiring personal skills needed to be effective, find ways to make a difference, be prepared to challenge the accepted wisdom, maintain healthy balance between work and personal life, having a desire to excel, appreciating without being critical, enjoying the job which they do and keep on learning.

The pathway to higher education can empower women in following ways:

Economic development and prosperity: Education will empower women to come forward and contribute towards the development and prosperity of the country.

Economic empowerment: So long as women remain backward and economically dependent on men, the helpless condition of them cannot be changed. Economic empowerment and independence will only come through proper education and employment of women.

Improved life: In our country, girls wait for marriage and after marriage they lose their entities. Their rights are trodden down, sometimes situation becomes insulting. If we do not take a broad outlook in the field of female education, the situation will be worse.

Dignity and honor: Educated women are now looked upon with dignity and honor. They become a source of inspiration for millions of young girls who make them their role-models.

Justice: Educated women are more informed of their rights for justice. It would eventually lead to decline in instances of violence and injustice against women such as dowry, forced-prostitution, child-marriage, female foeticide, etc.

Choice to choose a profession of her choice: Educated women can be highly successful in the fields of life. A girl-child should get equal opportunity for education, so that, she may choose a profession of her choice.

Alleviate poverty: Women education is a pre-requisite to alleviate poverty. Women need to take equal burden of the massive task of eliminating poverty. This would demand massive contribution from educated women. There cannot be much social and economic changes unless girls and women are given their rights for education.

Conclusion: Until the middle of nineteenth century, girls and women were educated only for traditional household works. Now, the society is witnessing changes in the role-status of women. There is greater emphasis on education of girls and women in the same way as we educate boys and men. The modern day parents want to fulfill the aspiration of their children without gender disparity.

The educated women should insist on exercising their civil, social, political and economic rights. This will help improve the overall condition of women in the society. We can hope for better days while all women of our country will be enlightened and educated.

References

• George, P.A. : Enlightenment of Women and Social Change
• Kelly, G.P. & Slaughter, S. : Women’s Higher Education in Comparative Perspective
• Parida, Subhash C. : Empowerment of Women in India

Dr. Shivali Singh

Assistant Professor, Department of English, SOS, IFTM University, Moradabad

 Ms. Shipra Singh

Assistant Professor, Department of English, SOS, IFTM University, Moradabad

 

Abstract

Shobhaa De, a modern novelist, renowned for portraying the sexual mania of the commercial world in a very frank and straight forward way, shot into literary limelight by writing her first novel, Socialite Evenings which is lawrentian in expression. She, a journalist since 1970, founder and editor of three famous publications Stardust, Society and Celebrity and consulting editor to Sunday and Megacity discards the early image of woman- a silent, an incarnation of patience and endurance in Indian English novel and creates an image of new woman, an assimilation of western influences and her native culture. She is the author of twelve books. Her works generally start with the letter ‘S’. The woman in her fiction is go-getting, lustful, power hungry and bold. In spite of having all kinds of cataclysms, her woman character is able to balance herself among diverse spheres of the life. Her modern women do not have moral and spiritual advocate for camaraderie. They are more prone to personal freedom and glamour. Through her characters she reveals the existence of glamour and modernity at the core. The objective of the present paper is to delineate the image of marginalized, dominated, defiant, unconventional and boundless new woman.

Call for Papers for April Issue

We are happy to announce the successful publication of the current Issue of International Journal of Research (IJR) with ISSN 2348-6848 is an international peer reviewed, internationally refereed, online, open-access journal published monthly.

Index Copernicus Value (ICV) 5.60

 International Journal of Research (IJR) represents a revolution in scholarly journal publishing platform. A pioneering effort in liberal, open access publishing with fast and high quality peer review that brings journal publishing to the doorstep of every researcher and student. We believe that quality information should be free and accessible universally in this day and age. The ideology of an open-access journal is in being free for all and IJR will be free for all to read and share.

And if your scholarly article or research paper is ready for publication then submit your manuscript through

Send Your Paper as an Attachment to us to

editor@edupediapublications.com

Dr. Nikhil Ranjan Agarwal, Dr. Sarika Khanna, Dr. Ankita Agarwal,

Wilsonia Degree College, Moradabad

Abstract

From ancient to modern period, women’s condition socially, politically and economically has not remained same and it kept changing with times. In ancient India, women were having equal status with men. Women empowerment in simple words can be understood as giving power to women to decide for their own lives or inculcating such abilities in them so that they could be able to find their rightful place in the society. India is now a leading country in the field of women education. History of India is never blank of brave women and philosophers women All the famous women historical women in India are inspiration for the women of this age. We never forget their contribution to the society and country.  This study was designed to assess the status & factors that affect the performance of women empowerment in India. The appearance & enhancement of women empowerment depends various factors such on socio-economic, political, cultural & psychological. Female education in India has been an urgent need of the new era because women are first teacher of their teacher and future of the child depends on the love and care of the mother means a woman. A woman performs the role of many characters through-out her life such as a daughter, sister, wife and mother.  Extensive illiteracy, lack of basic education, training and experience remain serious obstacles in women’s empowerment. In conclusion, it can be said that women in India, through their own unrelenting effort and with the help of Constitutional and other legal provisions and also with the aid of Government’s various welfare schemes, are trying to find their own place under the sum.

Geet Chawla

Lecturer, S.R.S.M.M., Rohilkhand University, Bareilly

             Women play a major role in a country’s political, social cultural, educational and economic development. Empowering or entrusting power upon them means allowing and accepting their full participation in all realms of life for better families, society and nation. But the scene has not always been the same. In ancient times, women enjoyed equal status and respect in the society. Vedas are proof to the fact that women were scholars and sages, and enjoyed power and equal status in the vedic age. However, the Brahmanic age saw a setback in the status of women, which further deteriorated during the Muslim rule. Evil practices and discrimination were seen in the form of purdah system, sati, child marriage, denial of education to girls, besides many others. Again, female  inferiority was preached during the British rule. But with the dawn of freedom, an urgent need for feminine emancipation was felt. It was established that without the support  and strength of women folk, political, economic, domestic and educational upliftment of the country was not possible. Therefore educating women became one of the priorities of free India.

            As Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru put it ‘If you educate a man, you educate a individual, however if you educate a woman, you educate a whole family. Women empowered means mother India empowered’. Education is one of the most important means of empowering women with knowledge, skills and self confidence. This holds special significance for women as it brings about a positive influence upon families and generations. It helps eradicate poverty, health problems, rigid views and positively improves the family atmosphere. Educating women also helps in spreading across the message of smaller families, healthy habits, equal status and justice. Thus the impact can be seen in the form of economic growth, peace, good nutrition and reduction in mortality rate. Education also plays a crucial role in helping the women to make personal achievements and build a career to the best of their skills and capacities.

            Education also helps in bringing down atrocities against women as they have the strength and knowledge to fight for justice and their rights.

            Women were earlier confined to playing roles of child rearing, teaching children, maintain households, carry out family chores etc. But the newer policies and directions of government have created their space in various fields such as business, banking, education, industry and defence. The government has played a significant role in providing education to women. Ever since independence, the strategies of the Government have been to provide social development, economic empowerment  and gender justice. These are kept in mind while formulating the five year plans. It has focussed on various areas that may facilitate empowerment such as self employment, vocationalisation, reservation in tution fees and studies and special quota in jobs, social security, legal protection and professional training.

            For educating girls 2180 residential Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Schools have been sanctioned and are providing elementary education to 1,82,000 school girls. The National Policy on Education 1986 triggered the Mahila Samakhya programme which aimed at women empowerment. Operation Blackboard, national policy on education, navodaya and Kendriya Vidyalaya are efforts of the government to provide free education to the girl child. The efforts since then have shown a tremendous increase in the literacy rate all over the country ever since. For vocational training, community polytechnic, shramik Vidyaiths etc. are set up. The UGC encourages institutions to take up research projects in the area of women’s studies by providing necessary funds. Women’s studies centres are set up in various universities and colleges.

            A greater focus has been given to issues  relating to women through creation of an independent ministry of women and child development. Special welfare schemes for women’s welfare have been rising every year. It is ensured that 33% of the beneficiaries of all government schemes are women and girl children.

            The 73rd amendment in our constitution ensures reservation of not less than one third of seats in the panchayat. The womens reservation Bill  2010 also aims in giving more political space for women and allows them to actively participate in the process.

            As per the world bank Report Women accounted for 94% of total employment in dairy sector, 51% in forest based small scale industries and 48% in the agriculture sector. This does ensure that empowerment of women and financial independence is on the rise. Even within the defence forces, all women officers can hold ranks and the short service commission tenure has been increased.

            Swashakti, Swayamsiddha, Swawlamban, STEP, construction of womens hostels, rehabilitation centres, counseling cells, Women technical training institutes, Mahilla Samridhi Yojna, Indra Mahila Yojna, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh are a few of the many schemes monitored by Government to facilitate empowerment of women.

            Now that women have regained their status and glory, their contribution can be seen in all areas. The success stories around us, make us to believe that women are gaining the right to take decisions. Their role in all the sectors is visible and their participation in the countries economic, social cultural educational development can be felt.

References :

1. Chhaya Goel and Devraj Goel, Woman Empowerment in India : Stereotyping and Modernity, University News (Vol. 52, No. 25) June 23-29, 2014.
2. Arundhati Chattopadhyay, Women’s Empowerment Across Indian States, Yojana, June 2012.
3. R.K. Rao (2001) Women and Education, Kalpaz Publications, Delhi.
4. http://zenithresearch.org.in.

Soniya Yadav

Research Scholar, N.K.B.M.G. (P.G.) College Chandusi

Abstract: Women education is a big opportunity for India to be developed socially and economically. Educated women are the weapon who yield positive impact on the Indian society through their contribution at home and professional fields. They are the reason of improved economy in the country as well as society. An educated woman has capability to handle her home and professional life. They can effectively contribute in controlling the population of India as they would like to marry at a later age in comparison to the uneducated woman.  Women should be given equal opportunity in education like men and they should not be isolated from any development activities. Women covers almost half population of the country means if women are uneducated the half country is uneducated which bring poor socio-economic condition. Through the women education the social and economic development will be faster in India. To spread the importance and improve the level of women education all over the country, countrywide national propaganda and awareness programmes are very necessary. An educated woman can educate her whole family and thus whole country. Bringham Young also said about women education – ” You educate a men ; you educate a men. You educate a women; you educate a generation. “

 Dr. Bhumika Bansal

Asst. Prof. RDKM, Sector-61, Noida, Uttar pradesh

Abstract

This study attempts to assess the psychological stress and its relationship with achievement among senior secondary science students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidhayalayas. A sample of students was randomly selected from different Jawahar Navodaya Vidhayalayas in Ghaziabad. They were administered Psychological Stress Scale for Science Students developed by researchers themselves which measures 12 dimensions of psychological stress. Results show that the examination and achievement have been emerged as the major factor causing stress, while  health as the least causing factor for stress. Negative and significant correlation with achievement was observed for all dimensions of psychological stress except science teachers and society.

1. Dr. Vijayshri Bhati

Asst. Prof. RDKM

Sector-61, Noida, Uttar pradesh

 

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences among boys and girls in terms of the relation between different aspects of creativity. A sample of 50 boys and 50 girls studying in two secondary schools of Delhi city was randomly selected. The investigator had personally met the participants and administered the tool Torrance Test of Creative thinking (Verbal Form A) designed by E. P. Torrance (1968) was used. Mean S.D.S and T-test were calculated to analyse the data. The findings reveal that boys do not differ significantly in all the variables of verbal creativity, except the measures of originality from the girls.

Introduction

“Creativity is thinking and responding process that involves connecting with our previous experience, responding to stimuli (objects, symbols, ideas, people, and situations) and generally to at least one unique combination.”

Pames (196325)

A nation’s progress, greatness depends not only on its material achievements but also upon its great thinkers, artists and scholars that are regarded as creative genius. And in fact, historical records provide evidence that cultures have collapsed because of failure to utilise, intelligent and imagination methods for solving their problem.”

Torrance (1962)

Guilford (1966) has pointed out that. “Creativity is the key to education in its fullest sense and to the solution of mankind’s most serious problems.”

Creativity and Sex DifferencesMany investigations conducted in India and abroad have revealed inconsistent results on sex differences in the test scores of creativity.Torrance (1963) while investigating on sex differences in creativity of the students from first grade to fourth grade has found that boys become increasingly superior on most of the measures of creative thinking. up to third grade. By fourth grade boys begin to lose their battle against conformity to behavioural norms showing a sharp measured decrement in most of these abilities [originality and flexibility). Torrance and Alotti (1969) found that girls were better than boys on the measure of creativity. Richmond (1971) has concluded that females scored higher than males. Flaherty (1992) investigated on the effects of a multimodal programme on self concept and cognitive and affective creativity on students in third grade and found that the girls in the experimental group made significant gains over the boys. In another study conducted by Boling and Boling (1993) found that first born males and later born females demonstrated the greatest creativity. With younger students prior to grade three, Kogan (1974) and Tegano and Moran (1989) found a tendency of girls to score higher than boys. However boys scored higher on originality in grade three. Coon (1969) and Warren, Luria (1972) found higher scores for girls in early adolescence on figural creativity. Torrance (1983) found that gender differences in divergent thinking ability have changed over time. In the 19505 and 1960s boys outperformed girls on measures of originality, whereas girls surpassed boys on elaboration and most measures of verbal creativity. Torrance (1962, 1965) and Harold’s (1968) results indicated that there are significant sex differences on several creativity variables with males being stronger than the females. Raina (1969) found that boys excelled on all the figural measures of creative thinking as well as some of the verbal measures. Nayana (1981) found that males excelled females on measures of verbal flexibility figural originality and figural elaboration. Singh (1982) made an extensive study and found that boys achieved significantly higher mean scores than the girls on the measure of creative thinking. Lau and Li (1996) also found that boys were more creative than girls. Statement of the problemThe present work is thus a comparative study of Creativity among boys and girls of Class VII.MethodologySample: A sample of 50 boys and 50 girls studying in two secondary schools of Delhi city was selected on random basis for the study. The sample was equal on age and social economic status.Design of the study: In the present study descriptive survey method was used.  Instrument of the study: Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Verbal TTCT: Thinking Creatively with Words Form A) designed by E.P. Torrance (1968) was used. The test is appropriate for the kindergarten level (age 6) through the graduate level and beyond, and can be individual or group administered. It  requires 30 to 45 minutes of working time. Translated into over 35 languages, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking is a test in which anyone could respond to regardless of previous experience. This test is recommended as the best standardised measure to use because of the preponderance of evidence of reliability and validity over time and in different cultures. The TTCT is the most widely used and studied creativity tests reffinger. 1985: Swartz, 1988; Johnson and Fishlain, i999}. These tests can be used not only for identifying the gifted, but also for discovering and encouraging everyday life creativity in the general population. The atmosphere in which the TTCT is administered is important. Torrance (1966) recommended the creation of a light atmosphere such as thinking or problem-solving to avoid the threatening situation associated with testing. His intent was to set the tone so that examinees would enjoy the activities. Examinees should be encouraged to have fun and should experience a psychological climate that is as comfortable and stimulating as possible (Ball and Torrance. 1984). The verbal forms of the test incorporate tasks which require the use of language. The subjects are required to provide written responses to the questions put to them. The verbal activities are of the following types: 1. Asking question type2. Guess causes type3. Guess Consequences type4. Product-improvement type5. Unusual uses type6. Just suppose typeActivity 1. Ask question consist of asking questions about the picture. Activity 2. Guess causes consist of guessing causes of the action in picture. Activity 3, Guess Consequences consist of guessing consequences, immediate or long term, about the picture. Subjects are allowed five minutes to complete each of these activities.
Activity 4. Product Improvement consists of showing an item, such as a stuffed animal, and asking for suggestions to improve it.Activity 5. Unusual Uses consists of thinking of alternative uses for a common object such as cardboard boxes or tin cans. Uses of the part of the object are acceptable. Fantastic or impossible uses beyond all possible reality are not counted. Activity 6. Just Suppose Hypotheses consist of thinking about an improbable situation. For instance, suppose we could transport ourselves anywhere we want with just a twitch of the nose or blink of the eye. What would be some problems benefits, etc. of this situation?All these activities are evaluated in terms of the creative abilities such as:Fluency [the ability to produce a large number of relevant ideas);Flexibility (the ability to produce large number of unrepeated responses, or the variety of ideas); and Originality [the ability to produce ideas that are unusual].To be original, a response must be given by fewer than 5 or 10 people out of every 100 who take the test. Fluency is the number of different responses. Flexibility is generally measured by the number of different categories of responses.  The Manual for Scoring and Interpreting results for the Verbal TTCT provides an easy to use scoring method for both beginners and experienced scorers. It includes national norms, standard scores and national percentiles within the grade for each score area. as well as national percentiles for average standard scores.The Verbal TTCT Norms Technical Manual includes norm tables with standard scores and national percentiles by grade and age for each score area.Reliability of the TTCT-Verbal scoring ReliabilityRosenthal DeMers, Stillwell, Graybeal, and Zins (1983) reported interrater reliability of 0.90 or higher scoring TTCT-Verbal tests of 125 gifted and 428 non-gifted elementary school children. Torrance (2000) reported inter rater reliability of 0.95 for flexibility to 0.99 for fluency between scores of TTCT Verbal.Test-retest ReliabilityThe test-retest reliability coefficients of the TTCT-Verbal and figural ranged from 0.59 to 0.97 (Torrance, 2000). Torrance believed that the creative thinking abilities including those measured by are susceptible to development through educational experience. In addition emotional, physical motivational and mental health factors also affect creative functioning and development and may contribute to a lowering of test, retest reliability. Treffinger [1985] concluded that given the complexity of creative thinking the TFCT can be seen as having reasonable reliability for group and research applications.Validity of the TTCT-Verbal Predictive ValidityAny creativity measurement is useless unless it has a known ability to predict performance. Preliminary studies established the validity of the TTCT and thereafter its ease of use fostered research on the [Swartz, l988).Thus the TT˜CT is more researched and analysed than any other creativity instrument (Treffinger, 1985; Swartz, 1988: Johnson and Fish kin, 1999). The TTCT has over 25 years of extensive development and evaluation (Millar. 2002). TTCT has shown high predictive validity (r > 0.57) for future career image and for academic and creative achievements. Torrance and Safter (1989) conducted a 22 year longitudinal study on the predictive Validity of this measure, which compared scores from various forms of the TTCT with later life creative achievements. Torrance (1990) states that the inter rater reliability among the scorers was greater than 0.90. Two decades of research establish the validity and reliability of the TTCT and demonstrate the appropriateness of including divergent measures in a multifaceted approach to assessing creativity (Kim. 2006). More than 1500 studies in 16 countries used these tests (Torrance, 1996) and tests have been translated into more than 35 languages since 1966 (Millar, 2002). Statistical studies concerning the language equivalency, reliability and validity of adapting test into Turkish have been developed by Asian (1999). Inter scorer correlation coefficient for subscales (0.95 to 1.00) demonstrated that TTCT could be implemented in Turkish culture as well (Yontar, 1992).statistical techniques used: Mean, S.D.S. and t-test were calculated to analyse the data.Results and discussion: The significance of the difference between the mean scores of the boys and that of the girls of Class VII was examined for each of the four measures of Verbal creativity: flexibility, originality and total creativity. The analysis of the results are given in  Table 1.Table 1

Variables	boys N=50		Girls N=50		‘t’ value	Level of significance
	Mean	S.D.S.	Mean	S.d.S.
Fluency	37.57	10.55	37.32	12.83	0.14	N.S.
Flexibility	32.65	6.89	31.67	7.90	0.58	N.S.
Originality	6.84	8.01	5.07	6.32	2.14	0.01
Total Creativity	72.53	21.22	71.94	25.52	0.17	N.S.

 As can be seen from Table l the mean scores of the boys and the girls on the measure of fluency were found to be 37.57 and 37.32 and their corresponding S.D.S. were found to be 10.55 and 12.83 respectively. The ‘t’ value was found to be 0.14 which is in significant.  The result thus clearly shows that there was no significant difference between the boys and girls on the measure of fluency.On flexibility the mean score of the boys was 32.65 and of girls 31.67 while their S.D.S were 6.89 and 7.90 respectively. The difference between the two means was insignificant as the ‘t’ value was 0.58. It may be concluded that boys and girls were similar on credibility once again. Comparison between boys and girls on originality shows significant difference between the two groups. The mean scores of boys and girls were 6.84 and 5.07 and S,D.S. were 8.01 and 6.32 respectively. The ‘t’ value was 2.14 which is significant at 0.01 levels, As such. it may be concluded that boys with their significantly higher mean score possessed significantly greater originality than girls. As can be seen from Table 1 on the measure of total creativity the mean scores of boys and girls were 72.53 and 71.94 and their respective S.D.S was 21.22 and 25.52. When the ‘t’ value was calculated to find out the significance of difference between the mean scores of the two groups. the ‘t’ value was found to be 0.17 which is insignificant. The result thus clearly shows that there was no significant difference between the boys and the girls on the measure of total creativity.ConclusionThe findings reveal that boys do not differ significantly in all the variables of verbal creativity, except the measures of originality, from the girls. The results of the present study are in agreement with the findings of Torrance (1963), Razik (1967), Raina (1969), Torrance and Aliotti (1969), Richmond (1971). Singh [I982]. Tegano and Moran (1989), Lau and Li (1996). who found the existence of significant sex differences between boys and girls in the test scores of creative thinking ability on which boys scored significantly higher scores than girls.However the findings may be logically reasoned in that girls in our society have been encouraged to confirm, whereas boys are expected to be active and dominant risk takers [Block1983]. Furthermore, Davis and Rimm [1989] acknowledge that most boys are provided with toys such as trucks, Logos and models that enhance their visual spatial abilities. While Lever (1976) notes that the games of girls are often highly structured requiring turn-taking and rules. SuggestionsAdditional studies are necessary to investigate gender differences in creativity across all grade levels. Furthermore, the impact of interventions or specialised programmes to enhance creativity needs to be integrated.At a time when there is an emphasis on the basic skills of literacy and numeric it is crucial to remind ourselves of the importance of creativity and imagination in their own right and in the contribution they make to other areas of learning. We need to resist any attempt to curtail or limit the development of creativity and imagination in the early years and beyond. If we do not ensure plenty of opportunities for learning that are first hand, that encourage children to think for themselves: to play and to take risks, we will raise a generation who, to quote Oscar Wilde, “Know the price of everything and the value of nothing (Wilde 1969 Lady Wlndenneres Fan. Act III).Through a curriculum rich in creative and imaginative opportunities young children have the opportunity to develop skills, attitudes and knowledge that will benefit all the areas of their learning and development. If our wishes for the children are to become reality we must plan provision for young children that encourages and develops creativity and imagination. We need to find ways to promote what we value and make our beliefs real.Creativity and imagination come from the human ability to play and civilisation rests on this ability. It is essential that we foster the human capacity for creativity and play, if we do not we will be left copying old ideas. Involvement in creative and imaginative experiences should be essential for the life.

REFERENCES ·

• BALL. O.E. AND TORRANCE. E. P. 1984. Streamlined Scoring Workbook, Figural A Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Bensenville. I. L: Scholastic Testing Service, Inc.·
• BLOCK, J.H. 1983. Issues, problems, and pitfalls in assessing sex differences: A Critical review of ‘The Psychology of Sex difference Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. 22 (4). pp. 283-308.·
• Boling, S.E. AND Bonus, J .L. 1993. Creativity and birth order/ sex differences in children. Education, 114 (2). pp. 224-226. ·
• CHASE. C. I. 1985. Review of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking. In J. V. Mitchell Jr. (Ed), The Ninth Mental Measurements Yearbook, pp. 1631-1632. Lincoln. NE: University of Nebraska, Burros Institute of Mental Measurements.·
• Coone, J.G. 1969. A Cross Cultural Study of sex differences in the development of selected creative thinking abilities. Dissertation Abstracts International. 29. 4828B.·
• DAVIS, G.A. AND Rum, S.B. 1989. Education of the gifted and talented (2nd Ed.) Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall Inc.·
• Flaherty. M.A. 1992. The effects of holistic creativity programmes on me self concept and creativity of third graders. The Journal of Creative Behaviour. 26(3), pp. 165-171.·
• Gulford, J .P. 1966. Creativity. Yesterday. Today and Tomorrow. The Journal of Creative Behaviour. p.13. ·
• HAROLD,O.1968. The Concept of Creativity in Art. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 19(3). pp. 1-11.·
• HERBERT. T. P, CRAIVIOND. B, NEUMEISTER. KLS. MLLLAR. G AND SILVLAN, A. F. 2002.  E. Paul Torrance. His life. Accomplishments, and Legacy. Stores, CT. University of Connecticut, National Research Centre on the Gifted and Talented (NRC / GT).·
• Johnson. A. S. AND Fish, A. S. 1999. Assessment of Cognitive and affective behaviours related to creativity. In A.S. Fish kin. B. Cramond and Polszewski Kubilius [eds.] Investigating Creativity in Youth: Res arch and Methods. pp. 265-306 Cresskill. NJ: Hampton Press, Inc.