Abstract
To develop citizens’ critical thinking (CT) abilities, schools must better integrate CT into the curricula. Although educators, psychologists, and philosophers agree on the importance of critical thinking, there is no agreement on a common theoretical definition. The goal of this study is to define the framework for the promotion of critical thinking in the context of curriculum development. Specifically, to explore how the primary school curriculum addresses the concept of CT, and to identify characteristics, core skills, and approaches to CT in the syllabi. We conducted a document analysis of curriculum and syllabi in the European Schools system. The results show that although the primary school curriculum does not define the concept of CT, it does consider it a key skill to develop and foster among pupils across the school syllabi. Concerning the CT teaching approaches, our study detected a holistic approach in which the European Schools system supports CT as an explicit and implicit goal within a standard subject-matter content instruction. This study can be used in future educational research with different stakeholders (teachers, school principals, policymakers, researchers) involved in curriculum development.
Highlights
Education should equip students with the skills they need to become active, responsible, and engaged citizens
The primary education curriculum document states that the teaching of all subjects is based on didactic principles that can foster critical thinking
The objective of this study was to explore whether critical thinking skills are included in the primary school curriculum of the European Schools’ system and if so, to identify the characteristics, core skills, and approaches to critical thinking in the syllabi
Summary
Education should equip students with the skills they need to become active, responsible, and engaged citizens. Students who are well-prepared for the future can become change agents [1]. Students are confronted with unknown and evolving circumstances later in life so they need a wide range of skills, including cognitive and metacognitive skills (e.g., critical thinking, creative thinking, learning to learn, self-regulation); social and emotional skills (e.g., empathy, self-efficacy, collaboration); and practical and physical skills (e.g., information and communication technology). These skills should be strongly integrated into school curricula [1]. The Paris Declaration of the European Union [3] highlights the importance of “strengthening children’s and young people’s ability to think critically and exercise judgement so that they are able to grasp realities, to distinguish fact from opinion, to recognize propaganda and to resist all forms of indoctrination and hate speech.”
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