The role of implicit theories in predicting creativity fostering teacher behavior: Gender as moderator

• Teachers who have clear ideas of the ideal type of principal and student are willing to foster students' creativity. • Teachers' implicit beliefs about the attributes of effective principals (ILT) predicted teachers' creative behaviors in the classroom. • Teachers' implicit beliefs about the attributes of ideal students (IFT) explain teachers' tendency to endorse creative behavior in the classroom. • Gender moderates the relationship between teachers' perceptions of principal and student prototype and creative behavior. Classroom creativity represents a significant educational goal. Reaching this goal requires teachers to maintain an open attitude to creative ideas or behaviors, emphasize flexibility in behavior, and value critical intellectual and independent thinking. Since teachers play a crucial role in developing student creativity, we focused on predictors of teachers' willingness to foster creativity in a classroom. Drawing on implicit leadership and implicit followership theories, we examined how perceptions of ideal (effective) principals and ideal students predict teachers’ tendency to endorse creative behaviors in their classrooms, that is, creativity fostering teacher behavior (CFTB), and whether teacher gender moderates the relationship between implicit leadership theories (ILTs), implicit followership theories (IFTs), and CFTB. Four hundred sixty-one Israeli Arab teachers from 43 public schools completed an online questionnaire. Regression analysis showed their implicit beliefs predicted behaviors to foster student creativity. More specifically, teachers' perceptions of students and principals in terms of ideal prototypes were positively correlated with CFTB, and their perceptions of principals’ and students' anti-prototypes were negatively correlated. Further, the relationships between principal and student prototype perceptions and CFTB were stronger for female teachers. We discuss the findings’ implications for theory and practice.