Obstacles to the Development of Critical Thinking Dispositions Among Student Teachers at Morgenster Teachers’ College, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This article explores obstacles to the development of critical thinking dispositions at Morgenster Teachers’ College (MTC) in Zimbabwe. MTC is a private college of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ) with an enduring history of evangelism. An estimated 50 per cent of the students are admitted on the strength of their exemplary participation in their respective parishes. About 80 per cent of lecturers are church members with reputable track records in church ministry. They are champions of conformity to religious doctrines and their pedagogical approaches are ‘monologic’ – one dimensional and ‘insular’. Monologic pedagogy is analogous to what Brazilian philosopher of education Paulo Freire labelled the ‘banking concept of education’ in his highly acclaimed book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In this article we question the educational viability of monologic pedagogy and argue that it is potentially indoctrinatory. We suggest a shift in the college’s pedagogy to a Socratic selfexamination and a Freirean critical dialogue, complemented by students’ own research and opportunities for critical reflection on their work in interactive research seminars DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n6p671