POSITION OR POLICY. (".1 BILINGUALISM AND CREATIVE ABILITIESO

A brief review of the literature on bilingualism prefaces the study. Research which points up possible deleterious effects of bilingualism is cited. Two additional studies by Reigal et. al., and Peal and Lambert raise the possibility of bilingualism having some positive relationship to creativity. In this study, an attempt was made to examine the proposition that experience with two languages during childhood is related meaningfully to later verbal creative functioning. Hypotheses were tested on second and fourth graders from a pair of urban elementary schools, one bilingual and one monolingual. Findings included: (1) no significant differences at the second grade level in fluency and flexibility on verbal and figural measures of creativity; and (2) at the fourth grade level, significant differences between the bilingual and monolingual groups, but not between the sexes. Differences are discussed and tentative conclusions presented. The bilingual experience in childhood was felt to result in subsequent greater development of potential creativity. (TL