Mapping the landscape of students' creative thinking ability: a systematic literature review and future pathways

Introduction: This study aims to provide researchers with a comprehensive literature review that illustrates how students' creative thinking ability has informed the development of meaningful research pathways. Methods: The systematic review highlights the significance of incorporating student perspectives and is grounded in empirical studies published between 1954 and 2025, retrieved from the Scopus database. From an initial pool of 186 studies, 30 met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed qualitatively. Results: The review provides an in-depth portrayal of how creative thinking among students is addressed within educational research. While quantitative methods dominate, they often fall short in capturing the complexity of motivational factors. In contrast, qualitative approaches present opportunities for methodological innovation. The geographical diversity of the studies particularly the strong representation from Asia underscores the global relevance of this topic. Discussion: This review not only maps current research trends but also identifies promising directions for future inquiry, advocating for flexible and context-sensitive strategies to enhance students' creative thinking. To the best of our knowledge, this systematic review integrates analyses of creative thinking with related meta-literature, addressing an underexplored area and contributing to ongoing academic development.