Given the renewal of interest in creativity this paper looks at the history of two important historical antecedents in the history of art education.These are creative self expression and creativity. Though there are many definitions of creativity the paper places emphasis upon creativity identified as a social class in its own right. This view of creativity differs from past definitions where it tended to be defined as a psychological trait. In addition the paper ties self-expression and creativity to the rising and falling fortunes of the middle class. The examples are drawn from the history of art education in the United States from the 1920s to the present.

有鑑於創意再次成為熱門議題，本文將檢視藝術教育史曾出現的兩種創意概念，即自我創意表現和創意。儘管創意的定義眾多，本文偏重創意本身的社會功能。這種創意概念有別於過去將創意視為心理特質的看法。此外，本文認為自我創意表現與創意，和中產階級的財富興衰有關。並以 1920 年代至今，美國藝術教育史的案例來說明。