**Creative Pedagogy in Higher Education**

Chapter 6, "Collaborative Creativity in International Social Pedagogy Educational Settings", reports the results of a three-year educational project among five universities that aimed to improve teaching methods for bachelor of social work programs. The project focused on enhancing collaborative creativity among students, instructors, managers, and professionals. The study found that collaborative creativity is influenced by structural and intuitive factors and requires integrative, functionalist instrumental, and adaptive forms of creativity development. The authors suggest that creativity concepts can serve as a theoretical framework to analyze a process of change.

In Chapter 7, "The Future of Education: Strengthening the Relevance of Lifelong Learning", the authors examine educational strategies aimed at enhancing the applicability of knowledge and skills in lifelong learning educational programs offered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) . The main contention posits the necessity of establishing a dynamic and mutually influential connection between the work environment and educational content and practices to bridge the divide between the curriculum and the work context, thereby enhancing the likelihood of applying educational content driven by innovation in the workplace. Relevance is a crucial feature, and the authors propose a conceptual model that offers additional insights into the interconnectedness between educational and job-related aspects.

Reading through this volume will give readers a clearer picture of why creativity is important and in what ways it can be realized in teaching and learning processes. We would like to express our gratitude to all the authors for their valuable contributions and the collaboration they provided during the review process.

In loving memory of George Ampartzakis, who left us too soon, but will never be forgotten.

> **Maria Ampartzaki** Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece

**Michail Kalogiannakis** Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece
