The storythinking programme: a framework for nurturing critical thinking in preschool

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Storythinking Programme, focusing on oral storytelling, was designed to investigate critical thinking skills and pedagogical practices to nurture these skills in preschool children. The aim of the study was twofold: (1) to clarify what type of skills preschool children use and (2) to explore those teaching practices that nurture these skills. One of the study’s central claims, examined from a sociocultural lens, is that children from age 3 begin to engage in critical thinking with adult scaffolding and peer support. The paper reports fine-grained evidence of specific critical thinking skills in children aged 3–5 years, gathered using a Design-Based study in 2 classrooms involving 17 preschool children and 2 educators. An in-depth analysis of the pedagogical practices necessary to provide the scaffolds and the space within which these skills can emerge is presented. The pedagogical approach leverages established practices in early years in a novel way to best support the emergence of young children’s critical thinking skills. The findings provide strong evidence to support the conclusion that preschool children think critically under specific pedagogical conditions.