Pengaruh Kegiatan Menggambar Bebas Terhadap Kemampuan Berpikir Kreatif Pada Anak Usia 4-5 Tahun Di TK AT-Taqwa Surabaya

Abstract

Creative thinking is one of the essential skills that should be developed in early childhood, as it enables children to generate ideas, solve problems, and express their thoughts creatively. However, preliminary observations at TK At-Taqwa Surabaya indicated that the creative thinking skills of children aged 4–5 years had not yet developed optimally. This was reflected in their tendency to imitate their peers' drawings, their limited ability to develop ideas independently, and their reliance on teacher guidance during drawing activities. This study aimed to examine the effect of free drawing activities on the creative thinking skills of children aged 4–5 years at TK At-Taqwa Surabaya. A quantitative approach with a Pretest–Posttest Control Group Design was employed. The participants consisted of 26 children, with 13 children in the experimental group and 13 children in the control group. Data were collected using an observation sheet based on Torrance's indicators of creative thinking, namely fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. The data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney test with IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. The results revealed an Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) value of 0.003 (p < 0.05), indicating a significant difference between the experimental and control groups. These findings suggest that free drawing activities significantly improved the creative thinking skills of children aged 4–5 years at TK At-Taqwa Surabaya. Therefore, free drawing activities can be considered an effective learning strategy for fostering creative thinking in early childhood education.