Abstract
D.Ed.
Humanity needs to survive both physically and emotionally in a rapidly changing
postmodern world, which has numerous problems. Critical thinking, and particularly
strong sense critical thinking, could be a powerful enabling factor when dealing with
these challenges. Education has long recognised its responsibility of teaching learners
to think, but it is doubtful whether this goal has been achieved. The paradigm shift
from content-based to outcomes-based education, with critical thinking as one of the
twelve essential outcomes, makes this time in the history of South African education
a particularly positive period in which to teach critical thinking
The problem is however that no research has been done regarding the teaching of
critical thinking in History - a subject that can ideally promote critical thinking - in
South African primary schools. Two subordinate research questions were posed,
namely what repertoire of critical thinking skills grade seven students of multicultural
primary schools commanded in the History class and whether grade seven teachers
taught their History students critical thinking activities. These questions provided
information that assisted in answering the main research question regarding the
generation of a possible approach for the facilitation of critical thinking in the History
class, that would enable the teachers of grade seven learners in multicultural primary
schools in the N5 District to teach critical thinking, and that could be implemented by
educational psychologists.
The intermediate research objectives were to determine the presence and nature of
the critical thinking skills of learners in a grade seven History class of a multicultural
primary school in District N5 in Gauteng; and to explore whether the History teacher
of the grade seven class in a multicultural school teaches critical thinking to his
learners and if this did occur, to describe what methods the teacher follows to achieve
it. These intermediate objectives were utilised to achieve the overall purpose of this
study, namely to develop and describe an approach for the facilitation of critical
thinking in grade seven History classes in District N5, that would enable teachers to
teach critical thinking and could be implemented by the educational psychologist.
This study comprised prolonged, in-depth observation by means of videorecordings,
of the critical thinking activities of the learners in a grade seven History class and their
teacher, for a period of ten months. It was found that very little critical thinking was
demonstrated in the classroom. The results of this research, along with information
gained from a literature study, formed the basis of principles which were developed
for an educational psychological approach to critical thinking instruction.
The initial group of principles alluded to the general aspects of a critical thinking
instruction program; the school environment required for such a program to thrive; and
the needs and circumstances of the teachers who are to implement it.
The second group of principles referred to the program content and highlighted the
importance of teaching for, of and about critical thinking; the need to include the three
themes of critical thinking, namely affective critical thinking operations, macro critical
thinking operations and micro critical thinking operations; as well as the need to
facilitate metacognition, to teach critical thinking for transfer and to assess critical
thinking.
The third group of principles concerned the role of the teacher and were directed at
classroom organisation and climate; the structure of the lessons; and the teaching
methods to be considered.
The final group of principles focused on the education of teachers, district officials,
principals, school management teams and parents regarding critical thinking
instruction.
An educational psychological approach to critical thinking instruction, which was
contextualised for a district based on the principles of project management, was
described.