What is Needed to Develop Critical Thinking in Schools?

Abstract

Starting with the fact that school education has failed to become education for critical thinking and that one of the reasons for that could be in how education for critical thinking is conceptualised, this paper presents: (1) an analysis of the predominant approach to education for critical thinking through the implementation of special programs and methods, and (2) an attempt to establish different approaches to education for critical thinking. The overview and analysis of understanding education for developing critical thinking as the implementation of special programs reveal that it is perceived as a decontextualised activity, reduced to practicing individual intellectual skills. Foundations for a different approach, which could be characterised as the ‘education for critical competencies’, are found in ideas of critical pedagogy and open curriculum theory. This approach differs from the predominant approachin terms of how the nature and purpose of critical thinking and education for critical thinking are understood. In the approach of education for critical competencies, it is not sufficient to introduce special programs and methods for the development of critical thinking to the existing educational system. This approach emphasises the need to question and reconstruct the status, role, and power of pupils and teachers in the teaching process, but also in the process of curriculum development.

Critical Thinking and Effective Personality in the Framework of Education for Sustainable Development

“…These capacities, taken together, are critical for learning and academic performance, as previously confirmed by [42][43][44]. Consequently, the findings suggest, in line with Tiruneh et al [22], Radulović and Stančić [21], and Pilevarzadeh et al [56], that EP is crucial for the development of CT.…”

“…Basically, it facilitates them to solve problems in complex situations, as well as to relate effectively [20]. Therefore, teaching and learning to think critically is one of the most important goals of current educational systems [21,22].…”

An MDRE approach to promoting students' learning performances in the era of the pandemic: A quasi‐experimental design

“…In some technology‐based learning activities, students could be asked to search for information to answer a list of questions on a worksheet provided by the teacher for investigating a specified issue (Craig & Petticrew, 2013 ). However, due to a lack of guidance, students might not think deeply, not to mention considering problems from diverse angles (Radulović & Stančić, 2017 ; Warsah et al., 2021 ). Scholars have pointed out the importance of providing suitable guiding scaffolding to help students compare and reflect in the process of trying to acquire knowledge (Ge & Chua, 2019 ; Røsvik & Haukedal, 2017 ).…”

The Perception of Teaching, Learning Styles and Commitment to Learning and Their Influence on the Practice of Physical Activity and Eating Habits Related to the Mediterranean Diet in Physical Education Students

“…In this sense, it is important to encourage students’ autonomy in planning and managing their own learning in order to become aware of their own mistakes in their teaching-learning process, which prevent them from achieving academic goals ( Colomer et al, 2018 ). In addition, young people in today’s society are subjected to a constant flow of information, most of the time untruthful, so it is important to develop in our students an open mind, but with a deep critical spirit, being necessary the acquisition of higher levels of thinking ( Radulović and Stanèić, 2017 ). However, for students to be able to manage their learning and to develop a critical spirit, engagement in learning is an important mediator in determining learning outcomes, as greater student engagement can improve academic outcomes and commitment to set goals ( Wu et al, 2020 ).…”