Critical thinking (CT) is a phenomenon of worldwide importance and is a desired outcome in higher and professional education. Development of CT is considered a primary responsibility of educators; however, educators find it challenging to foster learners’ CT if their own understanding of CT skills and concepts is not well developed. Limited research is available on how multidisciplinary educators perceive and practice CT. The study aimed to identify perceptions and practices of CT among educators from the disciplines of nursing, medicine, and education in higher education in Karachi, Pakistan. A descriptive exploratory qualitative design was used where 12 purposefully selected educators from three disciplines participated. Semi structured interviews were conducted and content analysis was done. Although the findings revealed four major themes, the focus of this paper is limited to the theme of faculty perceptions. Faculty’s perceptions of nature, acquisition, and application of critical thinking are multidimensional and although the educators were from various disciplines their perceptions of critical thinking were analogous. Thus combined efforts by all multidisciplinary educators in a higher education are needed to assist them to actualize their perceptions to promote CT practices in a classroom setting.

Teacher education in developing countries faces great challenges attributable to economic constraints, including shrinking resources, the low status of teachers—exacerbated by declining incentives—and an entirely theoretical approach in teacher training programs. These challenges are further intensified by variations in the trainees’ cultural, regional, and religious backgrounds and by the lack of collaboration between different education sectors. In this context, the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) in Karachi, Pakistan, is attempting to provide contextually appropriate, effective teacher education programs for Pakistan and other developing countries. This article draws on the authors’ personal experiences in the teacher education programs at AKU-IED and on studies that examine the impact of these programs on participants. Several studies show that teacher education transforms teachers’ beliefs and practices if accomplished through more effective approaches. The article discusses how teacher education programs are conceptualized and implemented in the multicultural context of AKU-IED, where the course participants come from various developing countries and diverse backgrounds.

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