Didactic Opportunities For Developing Students' Creative Thinking Based On The Competency-Based Approach

The shift toward competency-based education has foregrounded creative thinking as a core transversal competence demanded by contemporary knowledge economies. This article investigates didactic opportunities for fostering students’ creative thinking within the framework of the competency-based approach and offers an empirically grounded model for its integration into higher-education curricula. Drawing on a mixed-methods study conducted at three Uzbek universities over two academic years, the research analyses classroom practices, evaluates learning outcomes with validated psychometric instruments, and explores students’ and instructors’ perceptions through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative findings demonstrate statistically significant growth in creative fluency, originality, and flexibility among cohorts exposed to a redesigned instructional sequence integrating problem-based, project-based, and reflective modalities. Qualitative data reveal that explicit alignment of creative tasks with clearly articulated competence descriptors strengthens learner motivation, while formative feedback loops cultivate metacognitive regulation of the creative process. The article argues that creativity-centred competence formation is most effective when embedded in authentic disciplinary contexts supported by dialogic pedagogy and digital collaboration tools. Recommendations for curriculum designers and policy makers are provided.